'Great Migration' involves far fewer wildebeest than we had thought

'Great Migration' involves far fewer wildebeest than we had thought An estimate that as many as 1.3 million wildebeest move across the Serengeti Mara landscape each year has been cut down to size using AI East Africa's "Great Migration" is generally estimated to involve as many as 1.3 million wildebeest. But in reality, fewer than 600,000 of the animals might move across the Serengeti Mara landscape each year, according to an AI analysis of satellite images. The Great Migration sees wildebeest, zebra and antelopes move between feeding and breeding grounds in Kenya and Tanzania, while also trying to dodge predators including lions, crocodiles and hyenas. Lions' record-breaking swim across channel captured by drone camera Assessing the number of animals involved is a tough task, traditionally achieved using crewed aerial surveys. Researchers can only survey a small area at a time, however, so they use statistical models to extrapolate densities across unsurveyed regions, which can introduce errors given herds are unevenly distributed and constantly on the move.