African Safari Animals
Twenty animals worth crossing the world for, and exactly where to find each one in East Africa.
Planning a safari around the animals
East Africa packs an extraordinary range of wildlife into a few days' travel: open savannah with big cats and elephants, rainforest full of primates, and the only mountain forests on earth where gorillas live. Below are 20 safari animals most travellers hope to see, grouped by where they live, with the parks in Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania that give you the best chance.
The Big Five
1. Lion
Found in Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls and Kidepo Valley in Uganda, Akagera in Rwanda, the Maasai Mara in Kenya and the Serengeti in Tanzania.
Tree-climbing lions of Ishasha, Uganda
In the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, lions spend the heat of the day draped along the branches of fig trees, a behaviour seen in only a few places in Africa. Our 8-Day Into the Wild Uganda safari includes Ishasha, and Tanzania's Lake Manyara is the other famous spot.
2. Leopard
Solitary and mostly nocturnal. Look along wooded riverbanks in Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls and Lake Mburo, in Akagera, and in the Serengeti's Seronera valley.
3. African elephant
Large herds roam Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth and Kidepo, Akagera, Amboseli in Kenya and Tarangire in Tanzania.
4. Cape buffalo
Present in almost every savannah park, with big herds in Queen Elizabeth and Murchison, and in the Ngorongoro Crater.
5. Rhino
In Uganda, the only wild rhinos are at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, where you track them on foot. Akagera has both black and white rhino, and Kenya's Ol Pejeta and Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater are strongholds too.
Primates
6. Mountain gorilla
The headline encounter of any East African safari: an hour with a habituated family in Bwindi or Mgahinga (Uganda) or Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda). Read our silverback gorilla guide.
7. Chimpanzee
Kibale Forest in Uganda is the best place for chimpanzee trekking, with habituated communities and 13 primate species. Budongo Forest near Murchison, Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth and Nyungwe in Rwanda are good alternatives.
8. Golden monkey
An endangered monkey of the Virunga bamboo forests, tracked in Mgahinga and Volcanoes national parks, often on the day before or after a gorilla trek.
9. Black-and-white colobus
Acrobatic leaf-eating monkeys with long white capes, common in Kibale and in Nyungwe, where troops can number in the hundreds.
Grazers of the plains
10. Giraffe
Rothschild's giraffe in Murchison Falls, Kidepo and Lake Mburo; Masai giraffe in Akagera, the Serengeti and Tarangire; reticulated giraffe in Kenya's Samburu.
11. Zebra
Lake Mburo is Uganda's zebra park, and plains zebra are also in Kidepo, Akagera, the Serengeti and the Mara. Samburu adds the rarer Grevy's zebra.
12. Wildebeest
Well over a million wildebeest follow the rains through the Serengeti and Maasai Mara in the Great Migration.
13. Uganda kob
The graceful antelope on Uganda's coat of arms, seen in large numbers in Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls.
14. Eland
Africa's largest antelope, found in Lake Mburo, Kidepo and the Serengeti.
Predators and scavengers
15. Cheetah
Kidepo Valley is Uganda's best chance of a cheetah. The open plains of the Serengeti and Maasai Mara are the classic places.
16. Spotted hyena
Clever, social hunters as much as scavengers, common in Queen Elizabeth, Murchison, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater.
Rivers and lakes
17. Hippopotamus
A boat trip on the Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth or on the Nile in Murchison Falls brings you close to hundreds. Also plentiful in Lake Mburo and Akagera's lakes.
18. Nile crocodile
Some of Africa's largest bask on the Nile banks below Murchison Falls. The Mara River crossings are their most dramatic stage.
Birds you will not forget
19. Shoebill
A prehistoric-looking stork high on every birder's list, best seen by canoe in Mabamba Swamp near Entebbe or in the Nile delta at Murchison Falls.
20. Grey crowned crane
Uganda's national bird, pictured on its flag, found in wetlands and grasslands across the region.
Safaris that bring them together
- 12-Day Uganda Signature Journey: Murchison, Kibale, Queen Elizabeth, Bwindi and Lake Mburo.
- 10-Day Uganda Primates Fly-in Safari: chimpanzees, gorillas and savannah game with short flights between parks.
- 10-Day Best of Rwanda: Akagera's Big Five, Nyungwe's chimpanzees and Volcanoes' gorillas.
- 8-Day Northern Tanzania Safari: Lake Manyara, the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire.
Or tell us which animals matter most and we will build the route around them.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Big Five safari animals?
Lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino. The name comes from old hunting days, when these were considered the hardest animals to track on foot. Today it is a checklist for photographers.
Can you see the Big Five in Uganda?
Yes. Lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo live in Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth national parks, and rhinos can be tracked on foot at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary on the way to Murchison. In Rwanda, Akagera National Park holds all five.
Where can you see tree-climbing lions?
In the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, where lions regularly rest in the branches of fig trees, and at Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania.
Which African animals can you only see in the mountains?
Mountain gorillas and golden monkeys live only in the high forests of the Virunga volcanoes and Bwindi, shared by Uganda, Rwanda and the DR Congo. Seeing them means a guided trek with a permit.
When is the best time to see safari animals?
The dry seasons, roughly June to September and December to February, are best for game viewing because animals gather near water and vegetation is thinner. Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking runs all year.
