Where can I see it ?

06/11/2007

Most of the popular East and Southern African parks featured by Safari Club have good and quite visible populations of elephant, lion, giraffe, buffalo, zebra, hyena and other plains game and those parks with permanent water also have plentiful hippo and crocodile. This article concentrates on those animals which are difficult to see or rare.

Rhino:

Once common throughout South and East Africa both black and white rhino are endangered.
The best places to see rhino in a genuinely wild environment are Sabi Sands and Kruger in South Africa and for black rhino, especially, Etosha Pan in Namibia.
Recent reintroduction programmes in Botswana’s Moremi wildlife reserve have been very successful and a small population is flourishing in the Mombo Concession and Chiefs Island.

In Kenya returning clients are regularly reporting sightings in the Maasai Mara but the best places to see them are Laikipia Conservancy and Lake Nakuru National Park. The Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania is also an excellent place to view rhino.
Small and rarely seen populations still survive in Selous, Serengeti and Hwange in Zimbabwe.

Leopard:

These animals are quite common and widespread throughout Africa but their nocturnal habits and shy elusive nature makes them notoriously difficult to view. In most parks spotting a leopard is a matter of luck; however in areas with a higher number of visitors leopards do become used to vehicles and consequently more visible.

Zambia’s South Luangwa supports a high density of leopard so visitors here regularly see them and private reserves in the Sabi Sands area of Kruger in South Africa and Mashatu in South Eastern Botswana are also outstanding.

Relatively high visitor numbers in the Maasai Mara and Serengeti and the tendency for Leopards in these parks to be more diurnal and less shy has resulted in many Safari Club clients reporting sightings.

Cheetah:

This cat is the rarest of Africa’s big cats and although widespread it is difficult to spot in areas which don’t feature open plains and short grass.
Fortunately cheetah hunt during the day making them fairly visible if they are in the area.

The best places to see cheetah are the savannah grasslands of the Maasai Mara and Serengeti and most returning Safari Club clients report seeing them.

Etosha Pan in Namibia is also a good area to see cheetah.

Most other parks do have cheetah but finding them is a combination of good luck and the excellent tracking and local knowledge that our guides possess.

Wild Dogs:

This fascinating and social animal is widespread but highly endangered, witnessing or following a wild dog hunt can be the highlight of any safari. Wild dogs normally hunt during daylight hours and can be highly visible if they are in an area; they cover a huge range rarely staying in one area for more than a few weeks before moving on, the exception being when they have pups.

The Selous Game reserve in Tanzania has the largest population of these animals but possibly the best places to see them are the Moremi Wildlife reserve in the Okavango Delta and Madikwe and Sabi Sands in South Africa.

Wild dogs can also be seen in Laikipia in Kenya, South Luangwa and Kafue in Zambia, Hwange and Mana Pools in Zimbabwe, Ruaha in Tanzania and The Kruger National Park.

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