Examples of animals that carry out migrations

There are animals that live in certain places, but there are others that tend to move from one place to another. Here we will give you a series of examples of animals that migrate  due to different circumstances or natural phenomena.

These animals make the trips with a certain frequency, mostly they do it annually and last several days when doing it, according to the weather conditions during the transfer and the distance they must make. In some cases it is unknown which is their site of origin, because they travel different sites. Many people know that there are animals that migrate, but they do not know why they do so.

Examples of animals that carry out migrations

When animals migrate, they do so to locate a site that adapts to the temperature they usually endure. Although they also migrate because they are exposed to threat or for survival , in search of a mate to reproduce. These are some of the species that move by land, air and water, every certain period of time:

Amphibians and reptiles that migrate

1. Leatherback Turtle: This reptile migrates to the South, with the purpose of feeding in the deep waters of the sea of ​​Chile and Peru, after crossing the equator. This species, from the Pacific , is smaller in centimeters than those of other oceans.
2. Frogs: These amphibians, after wintering, usually migrate to their breeding ground. However, this type of migration is not very long. Another interesting fact is that the migration takes place at night and it is thought that it is because during those hours they can find their food. These migrations are made during dry weather, directed to ponds or swampy areas.
3. Salamanders: They tend to migrate, especially when there is a shortage of food in the place where they live. According to studies, they have decreased due to the lack of fresh water in the places he frequents.
4. Toads: These amphibians are very selective about where they will lay their eggs. That is why they make incredible migrations, in order to choose the right aquatic spaces for laying. When migrating, they must cross roads, which poses a risk to these animals and a large increase in mortality every year.

Migratory birds

5. Arctic tern: This migratory bird has a sparrow shape and a great sense of orientation, managing to find the nest it has made the previous year, which shows an amazing memory. Its diet is based on the insects it captures in the air, it has long wings, a forked tail and a spindle-shaped body.

6. Swallows: These birds migrate in search of food. Migration is observed in the company of large flocks of swallows or in small groups, during the winter season, which is when their food is scarce. They are organized animals, since before the flight, entire families of these birds are seen, gathered to prepare their trip.

7. Shearwaters: It is considered an excellent migrant, since its flight has reached up to 910 km per day. Its size is 45cm in length and a wingspan of one meter.

Invertebrates that migrate

8. Crabs: Especially red crabs, they have a great migratory capacity from the jungle to the coast, to mate. During this period, the females wait for the full moon to lay their eggs in the sea.
9. Lobsters: Some groups of lobsters are organized to initiate a migratory phase and these are identified by having a darker color. They can be found in different habitats and heights, up to 4000 meters above sea level.
10. Dragonfly: Its flights are transoceanic, despite having only two pairs of wings. However, they are supported by drafts and hurricane-force winds. Their hind wings help them to glide, so they can reach extraordinary distances. Some migration routes have been found that started in India and ended in Africa or vice versa.

11. Monarch butterfly: This species of butterfly is the one that undertakes the widest annual migration in existence. They have come to fly up to more than 4,000Km. The most traveled routes have gone from the United States to Canada, when they reach their destination they reproduce. After this, they move to the forests of central Mexico with the purpose of hibernating.

Mammals that migrate

12. Antelopes: Antelope migrations are carried out in herds, with up to 200 antelopes making their way. They are located in North America, having a migratory route of up to 190 km. They have birth fields and these movements are intended to reach them, before the change of season. They are animals that have survived the different climatic changes that other species could not support.

13. Humpback whale: They are the largest mammals in the world. These species carry out their migrations fleeing from the cold of Antarctica, in search of waters with warmer temperatures for their mating, reaching the coasts of Ecuador. They travel in herds of more than 6,000 whales annually and have been navigating the oceans for more than 50 million years.

14. Zebras: These animals migrate each year in herds when food shortages are marked in the place where they are. So they set out on their journey, looking for fresh grass and water, for the adults and the young. However, one of its limitations is the mighty rivers, in which many zebras end up drowned.
15. Gazelles: These animals have been disappearing, due to farmers, although sometimes it has been thought that they were hunters. What happens is that gazelles have the same diet as cows, sheep and goats, so the ranchers place a fence where previously they were open fields, preventing these animals from getting food, after seasonal migrations

16. Hyenas: These animals are considered to have migrated due to climate change. But this has been a hypothesis. On the other hand, it is also believed that their migration has been in search of the prey that have migrated to other places.
17. Lions: Like hyenas, packs of lions that look for their prey, follow the steps of their migration. However, in most cases, they have been seen simply living in the areas of their prey, waiting for their passage to hunt them.
18. Leopards: These solitary animals migrate less than hyenas and lions, their migrations occur in the summer and winter seasons in search or waiting for prey animals.

Migrating fish

19. Tunas: Tunas are migratory fish , as is the case with the giant bluefin tuna that travels from the North Atlantic to the waters of the Mediterranean. In cold temperatures they feed and in warm waters they reproduce. This migration is more than 2,500 miles and the impressive thing is that during all this long journey, they ignite their instinct to reach their destination, without stopping, so they do not eat anything.

20. Salmons: These fish are born and raised in the salty guas, but later in the maturity period, they migrate upstream to spawn.
21. Trouts: Every year, these freshwater fish migrate, either at the beginning or at the end of the year, swimming through the fast waters.