Are there animals everywhere in Tanzania?
Are there animals everywhere in Tanzania?
As a first-time visitor, you might have a question like this while planning your next African adventure. And it matters a lot because no one wants to make mistakes on their first trip. So, we are sure you want to know if you will encounter animals everywhere in this glorious nation, and that’s why we are here.
Of course, no, you can’t find animals everywhere in Tanzania. Instead, you can find them in any of its 22 national parks or a myriad of reserves. In this blog, we highlight the best beginner-friendly parks for wildlife viewing in Tanzania. Let’s dive in!
Tanzania is home to a diverse wildlife species found in its large and lush protected areas, which include national parks, game reserves, a conservation area, and a myriad of other conservancies. If it’s your first time traveling to Tanzania, you might be confused about which park to go to watch wildlife. Here’s a comprehensive list of the best wildlife destinations for beginners in Tanzania.
Serengeti National Park
The Serengeti always tops the bucket list of many visitors. And estimates put the total number of visitors per year at around 350,000. Yet, it never disappoints in terms of game viewing. Therefore, it’s a true gem for anyone, first-timer or a seasoned traveler.
What to see in the Serengeti?
There’s much to experience in this park. What matters is your flexible itinerary.
The Big Five.
If you’re going to Serengeti, chances are: you’re searching for the Big Five, or strolling the vast ‘endless’ plains to see the migration herds (we’ll get to that). The Big Five – lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and buffalo – call this park home.
Lions prefer vast plains and kopjes in the southwest of Seronera. You can also see them in other regions of the park, usually in prides. Leopards spend their daytime napping in acacia trees. Buffalos and elephants are common in woodlands and riverine forests, while rhinos (black rhinos) are rare but present near Moru Kopjes under surveillance.
Therefore, with our best game driver searching the Seronera, you can crack the Big Five. We recommend 2-3 days to maximize your wildlife experience.
The Great Migration.
Probably the most famous natural event in Africa. Every year, over 2 million ungulates migrate from the south to the north in their search for greener grazing grounds. Since it’s a natural event varying depending on the rainy season, timing is king. Here’s the estimated timeline:
December – March – the wildebeest are in the southern plains of Serengeti and the Ndutu area. They give birth to about half a million calves. There are young animals everywhere in the south, which attract predators. So, there are a lot of predatory actions.
April – June – the migration reaches the center of Serengeti (Seronera) in April or early May heading westwards. By June, the herds are in the Western Corridor, where they cross the Grumeti River and continue their course northwards.
July – September – the wildebeest start crossing the Mara River. This event is dramatic and the most favorite piece for all nature lovers.
October – November – the wildebeest spread into the Masai Mara’s Mara Triangle seeking grazing grounds and water. But in early November, they start moving to the south again, where rain has started falling.
Therefore, depending on your time of travel, you can catch up with any of these events. But there might be changes in some of the events because the animals have their clocks and instincts that push them to migrate when it’s the best thing to do. We’ll be in touch for updates, though.
The Big Cats
It’s no coincidence that the Serengeti is famous for its rich predator population. It truly is. It has the world’s largest lion population, at around 3,000. The park also hosts a large population of leopards and cheetahs. So, if you want to spot these dangerous creatures, you’re in the right bus.
The big cats are abundant in the central part of the park. Leopards are common in the riverbanks of the Seronera River, where they climb up sausage or acacia trees. Cheetahs live in the plains south of Seronera. You can find them standing on a kopje to scan the plains.
Lions are almost everywhere in the park, in the savanna plains. Unlike cheetahs and leopards, which form small groups, lions can form a large pride of up to 40. Their territorial nature makes them protect hectares of plains from other prides.
A safari on a jeep introduces you to other predators like African wild dogs, jackals, spotted hyenas, and bat-eared foxes. Yet, over 500 bird species await you, not to mention giraffes and impalas. There’s much to see in the Serengeti.
Ngorongoro Crater
This is the masterpiece of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This large, enormous crater is 264 square kilometers in size and 600 meters deep. The diameter is about 18 kilometers. Don’t let its size fool you; it’s home to over 25,000 large animals residing on its crater floor.
What to see in the Ngorongoro Crater?
The Big Five.
A gentle descent into the world’s largest intact caldera can make you tick off all the Big Five. With about 70 lions, the crater has the world’s highest density of lions. Please don’t confuse density with population. Let’s see.
The crater is just 264 sq km and has 70 lions, that’s a density of a lion per 3.8 sq km. Which means you have a chance of spotting a lion for every 3.8 square kilometers. That density is bigger than Serengeti’s lion per 4.9 sq km.
The crater hosts about 30 black rhinos. And it’s much easier to spot them than it is in the Serengeti. These heavy mammals are dark grey. The name “black rhino” has nothing to do with their color. They were probably named so due to their black coat after wallowing in the mud to avoid biting insects and to cool off. Drive near shrubland where they prefer to hide to see them.
Seeing a leopard is a special treat since they avoid the heat of the day by hiding in trees. Since the crater mainly consists of plains, Lake Magadi, and shrubs, it needs a little more effort to encounter leopards, because they’re arboreal (they prefer climbing trees). The promising place to spot leopards is in the Lerai Forest.
Over 300 elephants live in the crater. You can spot them in the Lerai Forest and throughout the crater. They shape the forest by trimming the branches to pave the way through.
Buffalo herds graze in the lush grassy plains of the crater. As usual, they form large herds of up to 400, sweeping the plains. You can easily spot them on a game drive. However, be careful with them. Their humble look doesn’t prove their innocence: when they charge, even a lion thinks twice.
Wildlife and striking landscape.
Apart from the Big Five, you can spot a myriad of other animals on your drive through the crater. These include wildebeest, gazelle, zebra, impala, hyena, wild dog, bat-eared fox, dik-dik, and eland.
There’s one animal you can’t see down the crater – a giraffe. Giraffes are absent in the Ngorongoro Crater for two reasons:
- They can’t descend the steep crater rim due to their tall legs.
- The crater ecosystem favors grazers, not browsers like giraffes.
Therefore, giraffes live in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, not in the crater. You can see them after you ascend the crater, because they make good pictures, not worth missing.
Another thing to watch in the crater is its beautiful landscape. The hills rise higher while the green crater rims make it a picturesque setting for photographs. You can enjoy a sundowner at a special point in the crater rim or go for a hike.
Apart from seeing animals in the crater, the conservation area also hosts the Maasai tribe. With their unique dressing style, dances, and charm, we promise you’re going to like them. You’ll learn a new dancing style, challenge them in a spear-throwing competition, buy their handmade beads and laces, or herd cattle with them.
Nyerere National Park
Nyerere National Park (previously Selous Game Reserve) is Africa’s largest park, covering 30,893 square kilometers (11,900 square miles), in the remote southern part of Tanzania. The best entry point to this park is the Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) in Dar es Salaam.
What to see in Nyerere?
The Big Five
Does it sound the same as above? Not the same at all. Nyerere is quiet and untouched, unlike northern parks. Here, you’ll discover nature at its purest form with no one else except your guide. Because in this park, vehicles don’t compete for a wildlife sighting.
The park is home to an incredible population of lions and leopards. You can easily spot these canines in the plains and kopjes. There’s a huge population of elephants in the riverine forests along the Rufiji River.
Buffalos are a common sight during game drives in the typical big herds. Rhinos are rare as it is in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro, but there are better chances to spot them.
Hippos and crocs.
Hippos deserve a special trip in Nyerere National Park. They are plenty, especially in the Rufiji River and seasonal swamps. On a unique boat ride, you can watch them as they bask in the sun in the morning.
The Nile crocodiles are also present in abundance. Usually spotted in the morning, these reptiles hunt small creatures like mice. They may devour water birds and large game like wildebeest and zebra if the chance arises.
Other animals
There’s no doubt that wild dogs are rare in most northern parks. There’s an incredible number of wild dog packs here. You can also see other animals like giraffes, impalas, elands, dik-diks, wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, hyena, bat-eared fox, jackals, hartebeest, waterbuck, and monkeys.
The bottom line
We are sure that these three destinations will give you a glimpse of what Tanzania’s wildlife is like. On your next adventure, you’ll come with a positive mindset of what to expect, and you can explore other lesser-known gems.
So, let’s start planning your next safari adventure. Our expert safari planners are here to help you. They respond in a fraction of a second once you send a message or a call.
