{"id":34082,"date":"2023-12-01T14:37:23","date_gmt":"2023-12-01T13:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bb618c5b-983d-45d1-9bc6-03a915dbedab"},"modified":"2023-12-01T15:35:50","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T14:35:50","slug":"10-amazing-mammal-migrations","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/10-amazing-mammal-migrations\/","title":{"rendered":"10 amazing mammal migrations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here are some of the world’s most amazing migrations, from the best-known wildebeest in the Serengeti to the not so famous bearded pig in South East Asia – in 1983 the number migrating through the rainforests of Borneo was estimated at one million. <\/p>

By James Fair\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 01 December 2023 at 13:37 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Mass migrations are some of the most spectacular events in the natural world. Animals travel in their thousands on foot or on the wing to follow food available in different seasons, to find water, or reach the best places to breed.<\/p>

They face incredible hardships as they travel hundreds of miles over harsh terrain, or cross fast-flowing rivers, and many will not reach their destination. Travelling together gives some safety in numbers, but the herds are usually followed by hungry predators.<\/p>

The most amazing mammal migrations<\/h2>
1<\/p>
Wildebeest migration, <\/strong>Serengeti<\/h3><\/div>
Around 1.3 million wildebeest, plus other antelopes and zebras<\/a>, travel nearly 3,000km each year as they follow the rains around the Serengeti.<\/p>
<\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/why-do-female-wildebeest-have-horns\">Why do female wildebeest have horns?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-35 is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-24 wp-block-group listicle\"><p class=\"listiclecount\">2<\/p><h3 class=\"listicletitle\" id=\"h-bearded-pig-migration-south-east-asia\"><strong>Bearded pig migration, <\/strong>South East Asia<\/h3><\/div><p>Little is known about these odd-looking pigs\u2019 migrations \u2013 but thousands travel up to 600km, probably following seasonal fruit supplies.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-landscape_thumbnail\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bornean bearded pigs might not be the first animal that comes to mind when you think of migration, but there are always surprises in the animal world. \u00a9 Quentin Martinez\/Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-36 is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-25 wp-block-group listicle\"><p class=\"listiclecount\">3<\/p><h3 class=\"listicletitle\" id=\"h-caribou-migration-canada-and-alaska\"><strong>Caribou migration, <\/strong>Canada and Alaska<\/h3><\/div><p>The 170,000 members of the Porcupine caribou herd (a particular subspecies of caribou) travel 640km between their summer and winter ranges.<\/p><div class=\"is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-37 is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-26 wp-block-group listicle\"><p class=\"listiclecount\">4<\/p><h3 class=\"listicletitle\" id=\"h-white-eared-kob-migration-south-sudan\"><strong>White-eared kob migration,<\/strong> South Sudan<\/h3><\/div><p>Every year, some 800,000 white-eared kob (a kind of antelope) travel 1,500km through the Sudd wetlands of South Sudan.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-landscape_thumbnail\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"5197\" height=\"3450\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2015\/06\/GettyImages-103019142-2a356f3.jpg\" alt=\"White-eared Kob (Kobus kob leucotis) migrating through Boma National Park, South Sudan\" class=\"wp-image-17389\" title=\"White-eared Kob (Kobus kob leucotis) migrating through Boma National Park, South Sudan\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">White-eared Kob migrating through Boma National Park, South Sudan<\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-38 is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-27 wp-block-group listicle\"><p class=\"listiclecount\">5<\/p><h3 class=\"listicletitle\" id=\"h-burchell-s-zebra-migration-namibia-and-botswana\"><strong>Burchell\u2019s zebra migration,<\/strong> Namibia and Botswana<\/h3><\/div><p>As the crow flies, these zebras travel 500km between Namibia and Botswana every year. The scale of the migration was only discovered in 2014.<\/p><div class=\"is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-39 is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-28 wp-block-group listicle\"><p class=\"listiclecount\">6<\/p><h3 class=\"listicletitle\" id=\"h-straw-coloured-bat-migration-zambia\"><strong>Straw-coloured bat migration, <\/strong>Zambia<\/h3><\/div><p>At least 10 million bats arrive in Kasanka National Park from the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo every October. It\u2019s possible they travel up to 2,000km.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-landscape_thumbnail\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"5139\" height=\"3404\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2015\/06\/GettyImages-501882431-9d0fa85.jpg\" alt=\"Straw-coloured Fruit Bats (Eidolon helvum), in flight at first light, Kasanka National Park, Zambia\" class=\"wp-image-17388\" title=\"Straw-coloured Fruit Bats (Eidolon helvum), in flight at first light, Kasanka National Park, Zambia\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Straw-coloured fruit bats in flight at first light, Kasanka National Park, Zambia. \u00a9 Fabian von Poser\/Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-40 is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-29 wp-block-group listicle\"><p class=\"listiclecount\">7<\/p><h3 class=\"listicletitle\" id=\"h-asian-elephant-migration-sri-lanka\"><strong>Asian elephant migration, <\/strong>Sri Lanka<\/h3><\/div><p>It\u2019s not a migration, but the dry-season merge of up to 300 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/mammals\/asian-elephants-guide\">Asian elephant<\/a>s in Minneriya National Park, Sri Lanka, is one of the largest elephant gatherings in the world.<\/p><div class=\"is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-41 is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-30 wp-block-group listicle\"><p class=\"listiclecount\">8<\/p><h3 class=\"listicletitle\" id=\"h-chiru-antelope-migration-tibetan-plateau\"><strong>Chiru antelope migration,<\/strong> Tibetan Plateau<\/h3><\/div><p>Herds of up to 1,000 female Tibetan antelopes can be seen migrating up to 600km between winter ranges and summer calving grounds.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-landscape_thumbnail\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1666\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2015\/06\/GettyImages-516486175-bbff8e2.jpg\" alt=\"Three Tibetan antelopes migrating across the desolate Tibetan plateau\" class=\"wp-image-17392\" title=\"Three Tibetan antelopes migrating across the desolate Tibetan plateau\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Three Tibetan antelopes migrating across the desolate Tibetan plateau. \u00a9 setimino\/Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-42 is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-31 wp-block-group listicle\"><p class=\"listiclecount\">9<\/p><h3 class=\"listicletitle\" id=\"h-lemming-migration-norway\"><strong>Lemming migration,<\/strong> Norway<\/h3><\/div><p>Lemmings travel huge distances to find new territory. Many drown, but by accident, not mass suicide.<\/p><div class=\"is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-43 is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-32 wp-block-group listicle\"><p class=\"listiclecount\">10<\/p><h3 class=\"listicletitle\" id=\"h-saiga-antelope-migration-kazakhstan\"><strong>Saiga antelope migration,<\/strong> Kazakhstan<\/h3><\/div><p>The saiga travels 1,000km across the arid steppe of Kazakhstan to reach the best summer grazing.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-landscape_thumbnail\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"4256\" height=\"2832\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2015\/06\/GettyImages-590490766-7acb097.jpg\" alt=\"Male Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) running, Cherniye Zemli (Black Earth) Nature Reserve, Kalmykia, Russia\" class=\"wp-image-17391\" title=\"Male Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) running, Cherniye Zemli (Black Earth) Nature Reserve, Kalmykia, Russia\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Saiga might well be the strangest looking antelope in the world. \u00a9 Shpilenok\/Nature Picture Library\/Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>We named the <em>Saiga<\/em> one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/weird-animals\">weirdest animals in the world<\/a><\/p><p>These facts originally appeared in <em>BBC Wildlife Magazine’s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buysubscriptions.com\/special-editions\/big-book-of-mammals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Big Book of Mammals<\/a><\/em>.<\/p><div class=\"is-layout-flow is-layout-flow wp-block-group highlight-box\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\"><p>If you haven’t had your fill of migration facts yet, how about discovering some of the secrets of bird migration?<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/uncategorized\/understand-bar-tailed-godwit-migration\/\">Understanding the epic migrations of bar-tailed godwits<\/a><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/birds\/what-is-moult-migration\/\">What is moult-migration?<\/a><\/p><p><em>Photo \u00a9 <\/em><i>Mike Powles\/Getty<\/i><\/p><\/div><\/div> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here are some of the world’s most amazing migrations, from the best-known wildebeest in the Serengeti to the not so famous bearded pig in South East Asia – in 1983 the number migrating through the rainforests of Borneo was estimated at one million. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":34083,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/12\/10-amazing-mammal-migrations-scaled.jpg",2560,1704,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/12\/10-amazing-mammal-migrations-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/12\/10-amazing-mammal-migrations-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/12\/10-amazing-mammal-migrations-768x511.jpg",768,511,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/12\/10-amazing-mammal-migrations-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/12\/10-amazing-mammal-migrations-1536x1022.jpg",1536,1022,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/12\/10-amazing-mammal-migrations-2048x1363.jpg",2048,1363,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Here are some of the world’s most amazing migrations, from the best-known wildebeest in the Serengeti to the not so famous bearded pig in South East Asia – in 1983 the number migrating through the rainforests of Borneo was estimated at one million.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/34082"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}