Wildlife in Tanzania

Tanzania is famous for the annual Great Migration, when over 1.5 million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebras and gazelles travel from Tanzania’s Serengeti to Kenya’s Masai Mara in search of abundant grazing pastures and life-giving water.

Predators are abundant here too, with lions and cheetahs dominating. Leopards also make appearances, and wild dog populations are on the rise.

The rest of the Big Five also call Tanzania home, including the critically endangered black rhino of the Ngorongoro Crater and Mkomazi and giant elephant tuskers of Tarangire National Park. There is also an abundance of flamingos that visit Lake Manyara. This rounds out a wildlife experience in Tanzania to make it a safari destination unlike any other.

Hippos and crocodiles can also be spotted here, and birders won’t be disappointed as there are over 1,000 bird species, making Tanzania a fantastic birdwatching safari destination.

Selous Game Reserve is one of the best places to see wild dogs, while Ruaha National Park hosts a large elephant population as well as big cats (lions, leopards, and cheetahs).

In the western region of Tanzania, abutting Lake Tanganyika, are the primate strongholds of the Mahale Mountains and Gombe National Park. Here, travellers can trek through the rainforest to find families of chimpanzees. They aren’t overly habituated, so your experience feels authentic.

With the exception of the endemic Zanzibar red colobus monkey, Aders’ duiker, Sykes’ blue monkey, and the diminutive suni antelope, the islands off the coast of Tanzania are all about marine wildlife. Dolphins are frequently seen on diving and snorkelling trips off the coast of Zanzibar and Mnemba Island, while whale sharks and turtles swim in the warm waters around Mafia Island.