One of wildlife’s biggest events, the migration of the wildebeest in Africa, can now be viewed online, in real time, on Periscope.
The wildebeest migration – which actually takes in zebra, gazelle, eland and impala herds – is an ongoing event that sees millions of animals move in a circuit from Tanzania to Kenya and back in search of grasslands and water.
It’s the basis for a huge amount of wildlife TV shows and, if you remember any big cat, crocodile or hyena documentaries, chances are they were filmed monitoring the passing herds.
Well now, thanks to some dedicated hard work from a MakeItKenya crew in Africa, and the explosion of social media, you can watch it happen live from the comfort of your home.
Andre Van Kets, Co-founder of HerdTracker.com, films lions live on Periscope, via Stuart Price
Download the Periscope app and search for HerdTracker, and you’ll be met with a bunch of videos that have been streamed in the past few days.
The service will be up until 5 October, with regular posts and some chats with local experts, which you can follow on #MaraLive on Twitter.
The crew hoped for a river crossing yesterday, but that didn’t happen, which means it could be today.
Some of the footage is bizarre and some is brilliant. For example, have you ever seen a giraffe running along under a hot air balloon, from the hot air balloon?
“Even though the river crossing we expected did not happen, we saw so many wonderful wildlife sightings, including a lioness stalk, hunt and catch food for her cubs,” said the team.
“So many magical moments here in Kenya.”
It’s quite cool and, if Periscope isn’t your thing, you can watch the videos on YouTube soon after.
Main image via Shutterstock
