Top 10 Natural Migrations

Whether through magnetic perception, solar or lunar guidance, landmarks, smell, echolocation, or any other method—many of earth’s creatures love to travel. Our planet is filled with overlapping migratory patterns that form the fabric of the earth’s natural systems. Whether through biology that is beyond our perception, travel patterns passed on through generations (such as elephants), or through sheer desperation in the face of shrinking habitats, animals are always on the move. This list includes fish, birds, mammals, and insects that exhibit their unique brands of awe-inspiring wanderlust.

10. Gray Whales

Any number of whales could be placed on this list as great migrators. Our oceans are interlaced with corridors that whales use in finding calm waters to birth their calves or cold waters to consume their share of krill. The gray whale serves as a premiere example of these marine mammals’ nomadic way of life. Hunted to near extinction by the early 20^th century (and extirpated from the European coast), these creatures have made a comeback in the North Pacific Ocean. Every autumn, a group of these whales embark on a 3-4 month journey that begins in the Chukchi Sea and ends in the basking warm waters of Mexico. Since they are often chased by orcas, these gentle giants saunter along best they can. The Pacific gray whale migration is highly documented and has become a great source of ecotourism.

9. Flying Foxes

Australia is home to four distinct types of flying foxes (fruit bats). These bats can be sensitive to extreme heat, which they try to avoid best they can. Their susceptibility to heat stress (especially among grey-headed flying foxes) will become a further problem as the global climate continues to warm. Their migrations are fueled by the need for blossoming plants and the nectar they contain. So it is that they require a large range to operate efficiently, something that is becoming harder to come by due to deforestation and agriculture. They travel to and from a variety of habitats such as swamp, rainforests and other types of woodlands. The flying foxes will continue to share similar declining fates as the iconic koala, since both animals look to the eucalyptus trees as a main source of food.

8. Pacific Walrus

Walruses love to spend a portion of their year on ice and their summers on rocky terrain near the sea. During the deep freeze, their icy habit becomes too impenetrable for good fishing. This cycle will always lead to migration on an undetermined scale. Walruses might find something suitable close by or far away. Walruses in the Pacific tend to perform an epic journey from the Bering Sea through Bering Strait and to the pack ice of the frosty Chukchi Sea and vice versa. Females and calves are more migratory than the big bulls, and many calves are birthed during the northern trip. These animals have been hunted to near extinction many times, but enjoy joint protection from the USA and Russia, one of the few things we can agree on.

7. Tuna

It has been well documented that many marine species of fish live a migratory life. Often it is these fish that are heavily targeted by commercial fishing. The reason being is a lack of international law concerning the harvesting of fish that migrate throughout the oceanic gyre. Tuna and types of fish like it travel around the entirety of the ocean and so cross a multitude of nations’ waters as well. One country thinks that if they do not harvest the fish then someone else will. The end result is a mass harvesting of (and extinction of many) types of migratory species of fish. Over half the species of tuna are facing extinction in the near future. Yet, in many of the world’s markets you can still purchase their meat fairly cheap. If we want to keep having our tuna sushi, we better start considering more sustainable options in fishing.

6. Salmon

Regardless of the ocean of origin, salmon migrations are famously dramatic. These fish leave the ocean and enter freshwater rivers, swim upstream, and dodge predators at every turn. Perhaps the most widely publicized obstacles of this journey are the roadblocks that the grizzly bears set up along the way. These tubby mammals enjoy lining the tops of the many waterfalls along the way and sit down to fish. The salmon are force to make a leap of faith that either ends in a fresh batch of cold spring water or a terrifying crunching sound made by the mashing of their bones by massive bear-jaws. For every few hundred fish that make it past these furry fishermen, one gets filleted. The mission might seem suicidal, and that’s because it is. After all this effort—even if a salmon makes it where it wants to go—then the fish simply opens its mouth really wide like an underwater scream, mates, goes belly up, and dies. Their decaying carcasses are left to feed the ecosystem from whence they came.

5. Army Ants

For many animals large or small their life is a migration. Perhaps one of the most distinct examples of this nomadic lifestyle can be found in the continents of Africa and South America. There are over 200 species of army ants out there, and these little buggers provide perhaps the best example of swarm mentality, that is many individuals acting as one, in the animal kingdom. Their life is so nomadic that they don’t even build dwellings. Instead, they come together to form their own structure called a bivouac. This living breathing structure becomes a temporary breeding factory where parts of their prey are brought back to be consumed. Impressively, these ants can dismember prey many times their own size through teamwork and swarm tactics. Their sharp mandibles can cut down even tarantulas into kibbles and bits in no time.

4. Sandhill Cranes

Hundreds of thousands of sandhill cranes travel from Northeast Siberia to the American Midwest and South every year. They travel in flocks of over ten thousand birds in size, and delve deep into states such as New Mexico and Arizona. They glide through thermal columns, or areas of hot air rising from the earth as a result of uneven solar radiation, to save energy for the long haul. If you watch a flock of sandhill cranes, then you might even make out an outline of a thermal column they are using. This species is also estimated to be millions of years old. Their migration to America’s heartland is relatively new, however. The migration is a result of adapting to the ever increasing presence of humans worldwide. At the end of their southern trek, they find their main food source: the discarded remnants left over from the mechanical harvesting of farms. The farmers enjoy the new accompaniment by these ancient creatures as they help clean up the place.

3. Wildebeest

Perhaps no animal is best known for its migratory prowess than the wildebeest. The timing of their trips is irregular, but it is thought that they follow average patterns of rainfall and the accompanying foliage growth. Wildebeest often travel with zebra to use them as extra crocodile bait for when they swarm perilous river crossings. They also exhibit a special knowledge of the languages of other animals, and so respond to many different calls of alarm. Even with their uncanny ability to come together and work through a swarm mentality, these guys still end up delivering lunch to the doorstep of Africa’s keystone predators. Vultures also follow this migration as an important food source, and so find themselves fatefully entangled with the wildebeest. If wildebeest numbers run low through natural famine or poaching, the vultures also suffer.

2. Monarch Butterflies

Monarch butterflies are fairly common in many northeast states of the USA, and range even as far north as Canada. They often herald the coming of warm weather and dazzle our eyes during the dog days of summer. What we may not realize, or at least comprehend the magnitude of, is that these beautiful creates travel over 5000 miles (to and from) each year. When they notice that winter is coming, these butterflies pack up and head south to Mexico and areas of the US bordering it. The year-round warm temperature accommodates these critters until they are ready to head north again. The back and forth dynamic is simply because that while the monarchs can’t survive winter in the north, they need the blooms of larvae that the breaking of spring provides. Insect spawns aren’t as common or as predictable in the warm recesses of the monarch’s wintering grounds.

1. Arctic Terns

The holder of the longest migration from start to finish, the Arctic tern is a winged badass that loves to travel. They are found at both the North and South Polar Regions and enjoy the summer at each location. When the winter winds begin to blow in, these wanderlusts pack up and head to literally the polar opposite of the world. If you do the math, they travel over 40,000 miles every year. With each healthy bird living around 30 years, that’s over 1,200,000 miles traveled over every lifespan. Like George Clooney, the Arctic tern spends much of its life up in the air. For food, these feathered commuters will often mug other birds in the air, forcing them to drop their prey. They stop their migratory habits to nest every one to three years.