Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Life on the Serengeti is a complex cycle defined by the rains.

The short rains begin in November to mid-December, prompting the migration back south to the south-western part of the Serengeti. Long columns of wildebeest and zebra are trailed by opportunistic predators.
From mid December to March, the short grass plains around Ndutu are alive with migrant herds of wildebeest, zebra and gazelles and the animals give birth during this period of abundance.
When the long rains begin in April, the plains are at their most beautiful, vivid with wildflowers and teeming game. This is an ideal time for photographic safaris as the quality of the light is magical.
From April to June, the Serengeti is the theatre for one of the most impressive wildlife shows on earth. Hundreds of thousands of plains game begin moving north-westwards to the Seronera, then the Grumeti River. This spectacular moving feast is trailed by predators; lion, cheetah, leopard and hyena.
By the end of June or July, as the rains dwindle, huge columns of wildebeest and zebra cross the crocodile-infested Grumeti River into the Masai Mara, where there is permanent water. Territorial game (hippo, elephant, leopard, serval, jackal, giraffe) remain behind, particularly in the Seronera area, hoping the fat they have gained during the last few months will enable them to survive the dry season and waiting anxiously for the cycle to recommence.