Nature writer and Sibert medalist Sy Montgomery (How to Be a Good Creature) joins friend and wildlife biologist Dr. Richard Despard Estes on a stunning safari through the Serengeti to track the last great African wildebeest migration. "The extravagance of their number stupefies," Montgomery's text states, "one and a quarter million wildebeests, in separate herds of tens of thousands, all on the move at once, accompanied by hundreds of thousands of zebras and gazelles. It is the largest mass movement of animals on land." For two weeks, Montgomery, Estes ("the guru of gnu") and the other members of their expedition follow the signs of these animals that "drive the ecology and evolution of the largest savanna ecosystem in the world."
As the crew experiences a series of near misses seeing the migration, they encounter myriad other life forms affected by the existence of the wildebeest: predators such as lions and crocodiles; fellow travelers including the zebra and the gazelle; the giraffe, whose population depends on the wildebeest. "The presence of so many wildebeests gives the local lions something to eat other than baby giraffes.... The more wildebeests there are, the more giraffe calves survive." Estes, who has been studying wildebeests for "more than half a century" and is considered the world's top expert, educates his companions on the gnu and its environment as they travel through the savanna.
Engrossing and exciting, the search for the wildebeest should fascinate and enlighten young animal lovers. Montgomery's supplemental content on other migrations and tangential information, as well as photographs from two members of the safari, superbly enhance the awe-inspiring narrative of their search for the gnu. Montgomery may inspire some to visit the Serengeti personally, but for those who can't, The Magnificent Migration is the next best thing. --Jen Forbus, freelancer