Kenya: Wildebeest migration draws scores of tourists

Scores of tourists are converging to Kenya's Maasai Mara national Reserve to witness the annual spectacle of wildebeest migration.

Interspersed among the wildebeest were large numbers of zebras and even hippos.

The migration over the Mara River culminates when wildibeast jump to cross the crocodile-ridden water.

Wildebeests begin to migrate in troops from early July when Tanzania's northern Serengeti Park gets dry. Water and pasture are available in the neighbouring Maasai Mara Park during the same period.

The yearly event peaks in August before it settles in October when the animals return to Serengeti.

Kenya's rich wildlife resource is one of the key economic pillars of the country. The Masai Mara park located in southern western Kenya along the Great Rift Valley area is a tourist hotspot.

It presents plenty of opportunities for the guests to enjoy its lush vegetation, idyllic setting and presence of iconic land mammals like elephants and rhinos.