Discover The Secret Life Of Zebras During Botswana’s Historic Migration. Here’s How To View It

Animal migrations have fascinated humans for millennia, from the ‘Great Migration’ of over 1.5 million wildebeest, zebra, and antelope in the Serengeti, to the massing of flamingos in the lakes of the Great Rift Valley. From the sardine run along the east coast of South Africa (the largest biomass migration on the planet) to the migration of 10 million straw-colored fruit bats in Zambia (the largest mammal migration in the world). From southern right whales migrating to South Africa from the Antarctic to the thousands of carmine bee-eaters traveling annually from South Africa to the Zambezi River in northern Namibia. But what about 30,000 zebras migrating across Botswana? You’d think that would be hard to miss. But somehow, this phenomenon went largely unnoticed for years.

In the mid-2000s, researchers started to notice that Botswana’s zebras were making extraordinary movements through inaccessible parts of the country. While there had been plenty of anecdotal evidence about the seasonal movement of various animals in Botswana, researchers now began to realize that the herds appeared to occupy certain areas of land at certain times of the year and that they were covering remarkable distances across the vast Kalahari Desert, to do so.

Finally, in 2012, researchers from the Worldwide Fund for Nature, Namibia’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Elephants Without Borders, and Botswana’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks, placed GPS collars on eight adult zebras and followed their journey over two years. This GPS tracking would ultimately confirm that Botswana’s zebras were completing a round-trip journey of around 300 miles each year, making it the longest mammal migration in Africa. “This unexpected discovery of endurance in an age dominated by humans, where we think we know most everything about the natural world, underscores the importance of continued science and research for conservation,” said Dr. Robin Naidoo, a senior conservation scientist at WWF and lead author of the study.

In the intervening years, scientists have established that there are two main zebra migration routes in Botswana. Zebras spend the dry season (June - November) around the Okavango Delta and the Chobe River floodplain. When the rains begin, usually around the end of November or early December, they move in two distinct groups – one from the south-eastern Okavango Delta to the Makgadikgadi Pan National Park and back, the other from the Chobe floodplains to Nxai Pan National Park. For most zebra, the Chobe to Nxai Pan journey covers roughly 155 miles and typically takes 14-20 days. However, some individuals take a more circuitous route that can take more than a month and cover up to about 250 miles. Researchers believe the zebras migrate because the grasses at the pans have a higher content of protein and minerals than the ones in the Okavango Delta or the Chobe floodplains, providing the zebra with two to three times more nutrition than from the grasses of the Delta. So rich and nutritious is the fresh grass that up to 30,000 animals will be on the move at any one time in a blur of black and white stripes.

Marching across territory predominantly inaccessible to people, the zebra travel in an almost direct line south from Chobe to Nxai Pan. "The almost unerring north-south direction was unusual. The distance covered by these zebras was a total shock to all of us involved in the study, as well as to people familiar with wildlife conservation in the region. Nobody knew that something of this scale, with this much ground covered, was occurring," says Naidoo.

But it hadn’t always been such a direct route. In the 1950s and 60s, Botswana put up a series of extensive veterinary fences to combat outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in domestic cattle. These fences stretched for hundreds of miles, partitioning the country, and blocking the route. From about 1968, no zebra could migrate. It wasn’t until around 2004 that these fences were removed, and here’s what’s amazing - within three years of the fences being removed, some of the zebra had started to migrate again. Considering that the average life span for a zebra in the wild is around 12 years, no foal born in 1968 would still be alive in 2004.

No living zebra could possibly remember the route, so how did they know where to go?

Spurred on by heredity, the zebra instinctively followed the same ancient migration patterns as generations before them. Conservation biologist Hattie Bartlam-Brooks from the University of Bristol says, "They had managed to restart a historical migration and within two years were following a highly directed route between their two ranges." She goes on to say, "Zebra find their way hundreds of miles through relatively featureless, arid scrubland. Pretty amazing when you think they only make that journey twice a year. We'd rely on maps, signs, GPS—and might still get lost!"

The Greater Makgadikgadi includes two National Parks, Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, and the smaller, adjacent Nxai Pan National Park. Located in the Kalahari Desert, these are the world’s largest salt pans. An isolated place where the 370 square miles of Okavango Delta finally seep away into the insatiable sands of the Kalahari Desert.

To see the zebra migration, safari experts suggest you concentrate your efforts on either the Nxai Pan or the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. Parched for most of the year, this arid landscape suggests almost nothing could survive. Gaze across Nxai Pan in the dry season, and all you’ll see is a salty mirage. Travel around it from June to November, and other than a few bat-eared foxes and the occasional elephant en route to somewhere else, the pan is pretty much devoid of life. Silence and solitude reign. It’s a beautiful place.

When the rains come, everything changes in Nxai Pan. Seasonal waterholes appear; sweet grasses sprout on the edge of the huge pan; wildlife arrives. Giraffes and elephant make their appearance, and springbok, wildebeest, impala, and kudu all materialize from the desert mirage, migrating for seasonal food and water. Most impressive of all the new arrivals are the zebra.

The zebras who take the Chobe - Nxai Pan migration route spend the harshest of the dry months around the Caprivi Strip in north-eastern Namibia and on the Chobe River flood plain, which forms the Namibia–Botswana border. In early December, rains begin to fall in the Nxai Pan area, triggering their departure southwards. Most of the zebra travel in an almost direct linear path, arriving in Nxai Pan National Park two to three weeks later, while others take less direct routes, with some stopping at Seloko Plain before joining the rest a few weeks later. The herds disperse throughout Nxai Pan National Park, remaining here for about three months, mostly staying on the pan itself, but some exploring the surrounding grasslands before making their return. Surprisingly, the return route isn’t usually as direct or quick as their journey south. Most of the zebras take around 80 days to reach the more permanent water system of the Chobe and Kwando-Linyanti rivers, typically traveling about 300-500 miles to get there.

Arrival at Nxai Pan offers the ideal opportunity for females to give birth. Driving across the pan, you’ll discover countless long-legged, playful foals. Explore the pan further, and you’ll discover there’s much more to see than just zebra. Large groups of giraffes undulate gracefully towards acacia bushes. Herds of white-faced springbok stretch out across the pan, sometimes thousands strong. Shy bat-eared foxes, with their oversized ears, walk quietly, noses to the ground and ears cocked forward, listening for insects. Ostrich parents protectively shepherd their flock of young. Desert-adapted elephants amble quietly across the pan. If you are lucky, you’ll see the famous black-maned Kalahari lions and the cheetah, whose speed perfectly suits the expansive flat landscape.

Just as the zebra’s home in Nxai Pan is only seasonal, so is African Bush Camp’s Migration Expeditions Camp, which is the best place to stay on a quest to see the zebras. This is a temporary camp, operating only three months of the year. This eco-sensitive, predominantly solar-powered camp offers four Meru-style canvas tents, each with comfortable beds and ensuite bathrooms with basins and bucket showers that are replenished with hot water on demand. A spacious dining and lounge tent, and incredible meals, means that even given the remoteness of the location, you’re never really ‘roughing it’ despite being in the remote wilds of Nxai Pan.

Botswana’s zebra migration is one of Africa’s best-kept secrets. The chance to see thousands of zebras moving across the raw Botswana landscapes is something few travelers will ever experience, but they should. In the words of Dr. Naidoo, "Discoveries such as these remind us that even in this day and age, nature is full of surprises."

Mahlatini Luxury Travel offers a 7-night Zebra Migration Itinerary to Botswana that combines 3 nights in Nxai Pan at African Bush Camps Zebra Migration Camp, with 2 nights at Khwai Leadwood Camp in the Okavango Delta and 2 nights at Linyanti Ebony in what is renowned as one of the best game viewing areas in Botswana. Prices start from $7,700 per person and include accommodation on a fully inclusive basis, international flights from London, and all domestic transfers by helicopter and light aircraft.

Many of the photographs featured in this story are by wildlife photographer Sibylle Brodmann. Sibylle has been fascinated by animals since she was a child growing up in a small village near Basel, Switzerland. Over the years, this fascination has deepened with multiple journeys into Africa’s most pristine wilderness regions. In Zambia, she was particularly impressed by the work of Conservation South Luangwa (CSL) and has become active as a fundraiser to support CSL’s anti-poaching work. Sibylle’s annual exhibitions, featuring her favorite photos, calendars, and cards, have helped raise awareness of conservation causes in Africa, generating over $50,000 in donations since 2013. She believes that everyone can help to make a difference in the race to save wild animals.

This story was co-reported with African travel expert Sarah Kingdom. Follow Kingdom’s travels on Instagram.