Wayfarer, August: the Great Migration, India's tiger forests, and a stork army in Assam.
Editor's Dispatch
There is a particular kind of silence in a safari vehicle when a herd is about to cross a river and nobody knows if it will. It is a good silence. It is also a reminder that wildlife is not a performance, and that those of us who watch have a duty to behave like guests.
This month's issue is built around that idea. We have written about the best-known spectacle in Africa, the migration of wildebeest between the Serengeti and the Mara, and we have tried to say plainly what is uncertain about it: the herd size, the dates, the weather. We have also written about places that close in August, because the best advice some months is to wait.
Lead story
The Great Migration: following the herds without crowding themEvery year, over a million wildebeest and zebra circle between Tanzania's Serengeti and Kenya's Maasai Mara. August is when many reach the Mara River.
Also in this issue
- Assam in the wet: a closed park, and the stork villages that stay openAugust is monsoon, and Kaziranga is closed to visitors. Here is what to do with Assam's wildlife country instead of waiting.
- India's tiger forests, and why they close in the rainsKanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench and their neighbours shut their core zones in monsoon. How to plan an honest tiger trip.
- Sabah, Borneo: orangutans at the plantation edgeSepilok for a first look, the Kinabatangan river for the real picture of how orangutans live now.
- Alaska: Brooks Falls and the bears that eat the riverIn July and September, brown bears gather at a waterfall in Katmai National Park to catch jumping salmon. The rules for watching them are strict, and for good reason.
- The Safari Packing and Health ChecklistA one-page list for dust, dawn drives and the long road to a camp.
Coming up
- Onam (Thiruvonam)Kerala · 26 August 2026 (approx. — verify)
- JanmashtamiAcross India · 4 September 2026 (approx. — verify)
- Ganesh ChaturthiMumbai, Pune and across India · 14 September 2026 (about ten days) (approx. — verify)
- Ziro Festival of MusicZiro Valley, Arunachal Pradesh · 24–27 September 2026 (approx. — verify)
One practical tip
Ask your safari operator how many vehicles share a sighting. The answer tells you how they treat the animals.
Your turn
What is the best wildlife encounter you have had, and what did it teach you? Reply and tell us.