February

The Great Migration · Ndutu and the southern plains · Very high confidence

Calving on the short-grass plains

Roughly half a million calves born in about three weeks, and every predator in the ecosystem knows it.

February is one of the best months of the year in the Serengeti ecosystem, and one of the least known.

The calving is extraordinarily synchronised: something in the order of 400,000 to 500,000 calves are born in a window of about three weeks, a strategy that swamps predators with more food than they can possibly take. A calf is on its feet within minutes.

For a visitor this means near-constant activity. Lion hunt in daylight because they can. Cheetah, which need open ground, are at their most visible all year. Hyena are everywhere. And because much of the calving happens inside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area rather than the national park, off-road driving is permitted — which matters enormously when a hunt starts two hundred metres off the track.

Where to stay this month

Ndutu-area camps, both permanent and mobile. Book early: the good ones fill twelve months ahead for February despite it being outside the traditional peak.

Plan a February safari

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