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What Wildlife Can I See in Victoria Falls?

Africa's best authentic tailor-made safaris

While you explore the paths around Victoria Falls, you’ll be able to spot many birds (look out for Hornbills, Fork-tailed drongos, African paradise flycatchers, and Goliath herons) and some mammals in the lush forest, such as Chacma baboons, Vervet monkeys, Banded mongooses and if you’re lucky, warthog and elusive bushbuck. Hotels on either side of the falls also attract animals, including warthogs, zebras, and giraffes who graze on their manicured lawns.

Depending on where you stay, wildlife spotting can be done from the comfort of your balcony. For more wildlife and big game, there are two national parks, one in Zimbabwe and one in Zambia, where you can enjoy a variety of safari experiences.

The African paradise flycatcher can be seen in and around Vic Falls

On the Zimbabwean side of the falls, the Zambezi National Park has the Big Four (only rhinos are missing), as well as many more animals in beautiful mopane woodland and forest landscapes, including African wild dogs, giraffes, waterbuck, bushbuck, impala, and sable antelope, and lots of hippo and crocodiles in the river. It’s easy to drive yourself around the park, but you can also take walking safaris accompanied by a guide, which will get you close to animals on foot.

Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park in Zambia, while the smallest in the country at only 23km2 (9 square miles), boasts an impressive range of species, including buffalo, elephant, Burchell’s zebra, giraffe, bushbuck, and sable antelope.

The star highlight of the park is tracking White rhinos (which were reintroduced from South Africa) on foot. Rhinos are absent from many parks, so this is a great chance to see them, and tracking these fascinating creatures is a memorable and thrilling experience.

Birding is a highlight of a trip to Victoria Falls. 470 species of birds have been recorded in both these parks and in the Victoria Falls area, including Pel’s fishing owl, African skimmers, Taita falcon, African finfoot, Verreaux’s eagle, African fish eagle, Miombo pied barbet, Collared palm thrush, Lanner falcon, Goliath heron, osprey, and Half-collared kingfisher.

The Zambezi River is home to more than 75 species of fish, including the famous Tigerfish. Fishing trips on the river allow anglers to try their hand at catching this toothy predator. Meanwhile, relaxing river cruises and canoeing trips (which can be multi-day adventures) in Zimbabwe and Zambia are a great way of seeing the area’s wildlife, including hippos and crocodiles, elephants drinking and bathing on the banks, antelopes, and lots of birds.

animals in the chobe national park hippo

Only an hour’s drive from Victoria Falls, Hwange National Park is Zimbabwe’s flagship reserve and one of the top safari destinations in Africa. It’s home to 40 000 elephants, buffalo, rhinos, leopards, lions, one of the continent’s largest African wild dog populations, and antelope such as roan and sable. The park is easily accessible and can be explored in a sedan car – you don’t need to rent a 4×4.

Less than 100km (62mi) away from the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, just over the border in northern Botswana, Chobe National Park has one of the most significant concentrations of wildlife in Africa and, with 50 000 pachyderms, hosts the largest elephant population in the world. There’s plenty more to see, from the rest of the Big Five to roan and sable antelope, cheetah, hyenas, wild dogs, and zebra.

Cheetah play during a brief thunderstorm

Chobe and Hwange are popular safari destinations to combine with a trip to Victoria Falls, but if you’re short on time, you can also make day trips to both parks from either Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe or Livingstone in Zambia.

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"We contacted Discover Africa to help us plan my 40th birthday trip and we have no regrets. Justin organised the perfect trip and everything went so smoothly. Our trip was truly amazing and the accommodation options he suggested for us were all amazing in di..."

Gareth French, United Kingdom01 May 2026

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"Chrizaan arranged an amazing safari experience for six of us, who came from the UK and Australia. She secured our booking at a superb Lodge in the Kruger at relatively short notice, tied in the flight transfers and ensured that the whole experience ran smoo..."

Bethany Evans, United Kingdom10 Apr 2026

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"We had a wonderful safari experience, and Justin from Discover Africa made everything seamless from start to finish. Communication before the trip was clear and helpful, and we felt well supported throughout. Some truly special moments including the fant..."

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"We had an amazing experience at Walkers Plains Camp. The wildlife viewing was superb from start to finish. Our guide Millie and tracker were super friendly, extremely knowledgeable and made the game drives an absolute pleasure. The camp was very luxuriou..."

Sue Panayiotes, United Kingdom28 Dec 2025

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"My mum and I used Discover Africa Safaris to organise a 3 week trip to Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. Devryn (Dev) was absolutely fantastic. He really listened to what we were after and crafted a superb itinerary from beginning to end. He had some great advi..."

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"We are an Australian family of 6 and have just returned from a 2-week safari holiday in South Africa. Discover Africa was excellent. Devryn Panaino was our consultant and he was full of good information and always speedy with a return email. There was no..."

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