Uproar as tourists, yet again, block wildebeest crossings during Maasai Mara migration

A video shared by wildlife advocates Cheetah Guardians on Instagram on Tuesday, August 19, showed visitors jumping out of safari vehicles and crowding the riverbank, leaving less than a meter between themselves and the animals.

As the chaos unfolded, some tourists even forced wildebeests back into the crocodile-infested river, putting both humans and wildlife at risk. 

According to the Instagram account, the person filming the incident even shockingly claimed that the incident occurred under the supervision of a park ranger and demanded $20 (Ksh. 2,584).

"This is the Maasai Mara today: chaos without management, no rules or limits, unethical guides, negligent rangers, and reckless tourists,” Cheetah Guardians said.

"The outcome is always the same: it is the wildlife that suffers, and too often, dies."

The account highlighted that similar incidents have repeatedly endangered wildlife, citing the 2023 death of cheetah Imani’s daughter and the recent encirclement of Nashipai’s daughter Naimutie by over a hundred safari cars.

Last month, Wildlife guide and photographer Nick Kleer shared images and videos on Instagram showing dozens of safari vehicles obstructing the Mara River, forcing wildebeests to scatter in panic.

“These ancient migration routes, shaped by instinct and generations of survival, were blocked by humans who should know better. The herds were forced to scatter. Some ran for cliffs and jumped in panic,” he said.

“The rangers who blocked these passages today are meant to be custodians of the wild. In my opinion, they ended up being as bad as poachers,” Kleer added.

Kleer also noted that his small group maintained a safe distance to allow passage for the animals, highlighting the contrast with others who ignored regulations.

The Tanzania Association of Tour Operators condemned the actions as “unethical safari practices” that threaten the safety of both tourists and wildlife.

Executive Director Elirehema Maturo emphasised that such behaviour undermines one of nature’s most spectacular events.

Training sessions have been conducted for over 1,000 guides to reinforce ethical safari practices, and Tanzania National Parks has stated that vehicles involved have been identified and disciplinary action will follow.

From July to October each year, the Maasai Mara becomes the stage for one of the most breathtaking wildlife spectacles on earth; more than two million wildebeests, zebras and gazelles trek from Tanzania's Serengeti to Maasai Mara in search of greener pastures and water, with the dramatic crossings of the Mara River serving as the highlight of the migration.

"The challenge we have in Kenya and Tanzania, in terms of wildebeest migration, is that whenever wildebeests cross the river, many vehicles filled with tourists gather to witness this dramatic moment," Alfred Bett, a tourism warden who has been working at Maasai Mara for 20 years, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

On August 3, the herd's crossing was abruptly halted as the roar of engines approached, with only a few dozen wildebeests making it to the other side of the river. 

The same disruption occurred again about an hour later, resulting in the crossing of just three wildebeests.

"We are trying to control them, using new technologies," Bett said. "We have vehicles, with two rangers on each one, that are always based at the crossing point, to make the passage of wildebeests smooth."

According to regulations made by the national reserve, when there are more than five vehicles wanting to see an animal, viewing time is restricted to 10 minutes.