Why do herds often gather on the bank before crossing?

They wait until one animal leads the plunge

What do drowned wildebeest provide the river?

Nutrients for fish and other life

Mara River Crossing Quiz: Wildebeest Herds and Nile Crocodiles

This Mara River crossing quiz follows the most dramatic moment of East Africa's Great Migration. Play 10 interactive questions on about 1.5 million wildebeest and their zebra companions, the move from Tanzania's Serengeti to Kenya's Maasai Mara, why herds hesitate at the bank, Nile crocodiles and hippos, where the river begins and what drowned animals feed.

Start Mara River Crossing Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Animal
Which animal makes up most of the migrating herds?
Number
Roughly how many wildebeest migrate?
Route
Between which two areas do the herds move?
Season
When do crossings into the Mara usually peak?
Predator
Which reptile waits in the river?
Hesitate
Why do herds often gather on the bank before crossing?
Danger
What causes many deaths besides crocodiles?
Source
Where does the Mara River begin?
Food
What do drowned wildebeest provide the river?
Partner
Which grazer often travels with wildebeest?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which animal makes up most of the migrating herds?
Answer: Wildebeest
Zebras and gazelles join them.
Q2: Roughly how many wildebeest migrate?
Answer: About 1.5 million
It is the largest land migration.
Q3: Between which two areas do the herds move?
Answer: Serengeti and Maasai Mara
They cross the Tanzania-Kenya border.
Q4: When do crossings into the Mara usually peak?
Answer: About July to October
Timing follows rain and grass.
Q5: Which reptile waits in the river?
Answer: Nile crocodile
Some are over 5 m long.
Q6: Why do herds often gather on the bank before crossing?
Answer: They wait until one animal leads the plunge
Then many follow in a rush.
Q7: What causes many deaths besides crocodiles?
Answer: Drowning and trampling
Steep banks are deadly.
Q8: Where does the Mara River begin?
Answer: In Kenya's Mau Forest
It flows into Lake Victoria.
Q9: What do drowned wildebeest provide the river?
Answer: Nutrients for fish and other life
Bones release nutrients for years.
Q10: Which grazer often travels with wildebeest?
Answer: Plains zebra
They eat different parts of grass.

Where the Great Migration Takes the Plunge

About 1.5 million wildebeest, joined by hundreds of thousands of zebras and gazelles, circle through Tanzania's Serengeti and Kenya's Maasai Mara each year following rain and fresh grass. From about July to October, the herds reach the Mara River, which they must cross again and again.

Herds often gather on the bank for hours, hesitating until one animal leaps in, then thousands follow in a rush. Nile crocodiles wait in the water, and hippos crowd the pools. Steep banks and strong currents cause many deaths by drowning and trampling, often more than predators do.

The Mara River begins in Kenya's Mau Forest and flows into Lake Victoria. Studies show the thousands of drowned wildebeest each year release nutrients that feed fish, birds and the river ecosystem for years. Plains zebras often cross with the wildebeest because they graze different parts of the grass.

What This Quiz Teaches

Wildlife fans will enjoy these questions.

Which animals migrate
Where they travel
Why crossings are dangerous
Where the river flows
How the river benefits

Did You Know?

Vultures gather after big crossings.
Balloon safaris float over the herds.
Lions wait near crossing points.
Calving happens in the southern Serengeti.
Forest loss threatens the river's flow.