No more than 5 paces away from our van at the top of Lookout Hill “Quick, Stuart into the van, we must go now!” Godfrey shouted. The race was on. Over the airwaves the wardens had called in that the wildebeest gathered beside the Mara River had started to cross. As we sped down from the heights of Lookout Hill, from all around, there were vans heading towards the river. This truly was a race. There is only so much space along the river bank from where you can get a good viewing point and we wanted that space.

As we arrived at the rivers edge, the crossing was in full flow. Thousands of wildebeest were lining up and jumping in to the river and struggling to get to the bank on the far side. Within minutes the last few were in and making their way across. Some of the younger stragglers for some reason turned back, maybe the current was too strong for them. Once back where they started, the stragglers made their way up and down the bank to attempt another crossing. Out from the shadows on the far bank, a very slow moving object swam towards one of the young calves that stood in the waters edge.

The biggest Nile Croc I had ever seen was heading straight for the calf. Slowly, the crocodile swam towards it with unbelievable speed, launched itself from the water to grab the young wildebeest by the head. Within less than a second it had grabbed the wildebeest and dragged it under. Godfrey had managed to get a perfect spot on the river bank, out of 40+ vans positioned on the side of the river, we were the only van in a position to witness the ferociousness of the Nile Croc.

For the next 4 hours we waited for the herds and pressure to build in order for the wildebeest to cross again. They have very poor eyesight and throughout the day, they would move down to the water’s edge then move back again to safety, their behaviour is intriguing, so indecisive! If there are no Zebra to lead the way, then wildebeest will go back and forth all day long. If a super herd is formed at the rivers edge, then the wildebeest on the edge of the river bank are more than likely to have no choice but to jump in and cross. Once this happens then the rest will follow.

Life and death is all part of existence in the Mara. Many wildebeest die from drowning as they break their legs jumping into the river from a height. Some get taken by crocs, and some, rarely, are attacked and killed by a bull hippo from one of the many pods that share the river. The crossings present many opportunities for other predators to try their luck. Leopards and female lions will come to the river in the chance of an easy kill.

The river is a dangerous place to be, but year after year the wildebeest make this life threatening journey as part of their fight to survive.