Running with the Beest

Witness the great wildebeest migration in East Africa, the most impressive mass movement of land animals on Earth. Travel with two Maasai guides who expose today’s conflict between people and wildlife and share new ideas for co-existence.

As the wildebeest herd moves north through the border regions with Tanzania, it faces a human threat: an invisible web of wire snares. Poachers sneak across the fenceless border from Tanzania to hunt animals for bush meat, using wire snares.

The wildebeest migration across the river has become a premier tourist attraction in Kenya. While tourism is vital to wildlife conservation, vehicles in these numbers disorient and intimidate the wildebeest’s behavior.

As the wildebeest migration approaches the river, they know there is danger lurking in the water. Nile crocodiles move towards the herd's crossing points at this time of year and wait for the big arrival.

Clement Kiragu, a Kenyan trainee cinematographer on "Running with the Beest," recounts the thrills and challenges of working on his first wildlife film. From setting up crucial time-lapses to operating the croc cam, his 64 days in the wilderness are packed with action. Clement also makes the case for Kenyans stepping up to tell the story of their natural world and the wildlife around them.