Many species travel in search of food, shelter and to give birth, sometimes traversing thousands of miles. Some of these wildlife migrations are nothing short of remarkable, true wonders of the natural world. Fortunately for wildlife and nature lovers, Natural Habitat Adventures, World Wildlife Fund’s official travel partner, offers unparalleled opportunities to witness some of nature’s most spectacular migrations. The naturalist staff at Natural Habitat Adventures chose their five favorite wildlife migrations – follow them and I promise you won’t find a more moving nature adventure!

Africa’s Great Migration

The annual migration of some 1.5 million wildebeest between Kenya and Tanzania, accompanied by thousands of zebra and gazelle, is the planet’s greatest migratory spectacle. The animals take a circuitous route through Tanzania and Kenya in search of fresh grazing and water. Hundreds of thousands of wildebeest head north in April and May. July through September they move from the Serengeti across the Mara River into Kenya. By October they are headed south again, back to the south Serengeti of Tanzania.

Natural Habitat Adventures East Africa migration safaris feature private and secluded luxury mobile camps — you won’t find closer proximity to the herds!

Churchill’s Polar Bears

Come fall in the Canadian Arctic, when the temperatures plummet and Hudson Bay begins to freeze, the world’s greatest congregation of polar bears convenes near Churchill, Canada to await the start of their northern hunting season. October through November is the best time to meet the “King of the Arctic.”

On Natural Habitat Adventures’ flagship polar bear tours, you can watch them (often at close range!) via private Polar Rover vehicles and their exclusive mobile Tundra Lodge.

Flight of the Monarchs

In late autumn, millions of monarch butterflies return from the U.S. and Canada to the highlands of Central Mexico to roost for the winter in the fir forests. January through March you can actually stand among them at their destination, and listen to the air hum with the vibrating of their wings!

On Natural Habitat Adventures’ monarch trips, you’ll hike and ride horseback into the mountain sanctuaries to spend peaceful hours with clouds of fluttering monarchs.

The Great Gray Whales of Baja

Mexico is home to another wondrous migration, of a species as enormous as the monarch is tiny: the Pacific gray whale. Swimming 6,000 miles from Alaska, the whales arrive in the warm lagoons of Baja each winter to breed and birth their young. Witness the grand finale of the longest mammal migration on earth in February each year.

Observe them up close via multiple boat excursions on a Natural Habitat Adventures whale-watching adventure!

Salmon — and Grizzlies! — of Katmai National Park

When sockeye salmon migrate by the millions from the North Pacific Ocean to their spawning streams on the Alaska Peninsula, they attract an even more impressive phenomenon: enormous brown bears! Each June through August you can walk the shores as enormous brown bears dig for clams, forage for grasses and fish for salmon in tidal pools.

No one gets you closer to the world’s largest coastal grizzlies than Natural Habitat Adventures, aboard the M/V Natural Habitat Ursus.

For more information about these and other wildlife adventures, contact the Active and Specialty Travel advisors at Covington Travel.

Natural Habitat Adventures Is World Wildlife Fund’s Travel Partner

Because of their commitment to environmentally friendly travel, as well as the exceptional quality of their small-group nature adventures, World Wildlife Fund, the world’s leading environmental conservation organization, has named Natural Habitat its worldwide travel partner — a designation that they are exceedingly proud of. Natural Habitat Adventures has donated more than $2 million to World Wildlife Fund and will continue to give 1% of gross sales plus $100,000 annually through 2018 in support of WWF’s mission.

As the world’s first 100-percent carbon neutral travel company, Natural Habitat Adventures offers eco-conscious expeditions from Antarctica to Zambia with a multitude of adventures in between!

Source: Originally published by Natural Habitat Adventures