Wildlife of Africa & where to find it
Lions, leopards, elephants, gorillas, lemurs and whales. Flocks of blushing flamingos, cheeky merecats and herds of thundering wildebeest.
Africa has so much wildlife to offer, but where do you go to find it? Follow our basic guide to the most popular wildlife in Africa.
The tours mentioned here are not exhaustive of our wildlife tours but something to wet your appetite!
The Big Five
The 'Big Five' animals on safari are elephant, buffalo, rhino lion and leopard.
These wildlife heavyweights are exciting to see and there are a surprisingly large number of parks where you could find them all.
Some of the most famous include Kruger NP (South Africa), , Moremi NP (Botswana), South Luangwa NP (Zambia), Ngorongoro Crater (Tanzania) and Amboseli NP & the Masai Mara (Kenya).
For special elephant encounters try Addo Elephant NP (South Africa) Chobe NP (Botswana), Hwange NP (Zimbabwe) or Tsavo East & West for their large herds.
Alternatively Amboseli (Kenya) are home to some of the largest tusked bull elephants in Africa.
Big Cats (leopards, cheetahs & lions among others) can be found in many parks but are especially prevalent on the plains of the Serengeti & Masai Mara.
See our Kenyan Wildlife Trails, Botswana & Beyond, Call of the Kruger, South Luangwa Safari, Serengeti Walking Safari, & Kenya To Cape Town
Other Classic Safari Animals
Zebras, giraffes, antelope, baboons, hippos, crocodiles, mongoose, hyenas and plenty more can be found in most of the national parks across southern and eastern Africa, although regions have their specialities.
To find merecats head to the Kalahari, for ostriches visit the garden route.
To catch rare species such as the long necked gerenuk head to Samburu Game Reserve in beautiful, wild Northern Kenya.
See our Southern African Magic, Masai Mara Safari, Coast To Cape Town & Kenya's Untamed North
The Migration
Every year thousands of wildebeest and zebras move cross the Serengeti & Masai Mara with the seasons.
You can catch the wildebeest at any time of the year although one of the greatest movements is between June and October when the animals surge north en masse, from the dry south and cross the Mara River to the Masai Mara's grasses in Kenya.
Here they graze and calve while moving slowly south again during the heavy March and April rains.
Hopefully catch the spectacle on our East African tours!
See our Kenya & Tanzania Adventure, Serengeti Crater & Lakes, Highlights of Tanzania & Best of Kenya & Tanzania
Seal Colonies
Experience up to 80,000 Cape Fur seals all together at Cape Cross Seal Colony in Namibia.
An experience for all the senses, this smelly, noisy and chaotic colony is quite spectacular and great for photographic opportunities!
Alternatively jump on board a sightseeing boat in Hout Bay for an excursion to Seal Island or dive with Great White Sharks and check out the nearby seal colonies at Dyer Island off Gansbaai.
See our Cape Desert Safari, Desert Tracker, South West Safari, Cape Garden Route & Cape Town Shark Dive
Flamingos
Huge swathes of flamingos covering lake shores can be found in Kenya and Tanzania's Great Rift Valley.
The soda lakes of Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha (Kenya) and Lake Manyara (Tanzania) are the most famous places to enjoy the spectacle of a lake shore flushed pink with thousands of these beautiful birds.
See our Nakuru & Mara Discovery, Masai Mara & Lakes, & Tanzanian Game Parks
Mountain Gorillas
Discover the last of our close relatives in the African jungle on a gorilla trek.
A trek to spend time with these critically endangered animals is only possible in two forests in the world, found in Uganda & Rwanda.
Spending an hour amongst a gorilla family of up to 18 individuals, watching the mothers groom, the babies play and the huge alpha male (Silverback) overseeing the family is an experience of a lifetime.
See Gorilla Encounter, Mountain Gorillas to the Mara
See our Troop To The Gorillas, Gorilla Encounters, Magic of the Mountain Gorilla & Discover Rwanda
Whales & Dolphins
Best times to catch the southern right whale migration along the coast of South Africa is June to October.
Although sightings are never guaranteed mothers and their babies can be common sights at certain points along the Garden Route at this time.
Catch sight of dolphins in Mozambique and Zanzibar where they often play in the warm Indian Ocean.
See our Mozambique, Kruger & Durban, Mozambique Escape & Zanzibar Island Getaway
Lemurs & Chameleons
These unique primates are found on Madagascar, separated from mainland Africa for millions of years.
With few real predators, lemurs can be very friendly, perfect for close encounters!
Enjoy spritely ringtailed lemurs, boggle-eyed chameleons and the eerie calls of the Indri Indri on our tours in this exciting destination.
See our Madagascar Revealed & Madagascar Dhow Sailing
Marine Life
Africa is home to a fantastic underwater world of marine life and reefs.
The Red Sea and the Indian Ocean's warm waters attract beautiful corals and tropical fish as well as dolphins.
Meanwhile the Atlantic around Cape Town is home to one of the world's greatest populations of great white sharks!
Check out our Dive Tours