Approximately 8,000 wildebeest are born every day during the peak calving season from early January to late February. The calving season also introduces a host of predators looking to make a quick meal of the vulnerable calves. It's during this time when the southern Serengeti and western Ngorongoro Crater host the highest concentration of predators in Africa at a given time.
Lion, hyena and cheetah show up in large numbers to patrol the grasses, waiting for the perfect time to make a kill. But an easy kill isn’t always guaranteed. Female wildebeest instinctively know to head to the short grass plains so that they can see approaching predators. There they form a barricade around birthing mothers to protect them and the young when they are the most vulnerable, during birth - ensuring the majority of the young survive.