Mammal Loxodonta africana

African elephant

Tarangire’s big herds are the classic sight: families drifting between baobabs to the river in the dry season.

The African elephant is the largest land animal on earth, and Tanzania is one of the best places anywhere to watch them behave naturally. In Tarangire the dry-season herds number in the hundreds, led by matriarchs who know every waterhole on the river.

We like to find a family early in the morning, then stay with it. You will see the calves playing, the teenagers testing each other, and the adults digging in the sandy riverbed for clean water. In Ruaha the herds are even bigger, and in the Ngorongoro Crater the old bulls carry some of the heaviest tusks left in Africa.

Where to look

Tarangire has the densest herds in northern Tanzania; Ruaha has the largest in the south.

Guide’s tip
Switch the engine off and wait. A herd that is relaxed will often walk right past the vehicle.

Sightings are never guaranteed: these are wild animals in wild places. What we can promise is a guide who knows where to look.

Destinations

Where to see the African elephant

The parks and reserves where our guides look for it, each with its own best season and safaris.

Arusha National Park

Montane forest, the Momella Lakes and Hartlaub’s Turaco, just 45 minutes from Arusha.

Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) in reeds, Tanzania

Rubondo Island National Park

Quiet island park with forest birds, waterbirds and sitatunga.

Bird singing on an acacia branch, northern Tanzania

Mount Kilimanjaro

Montane forest birding on the slopes of Africa’s highest mountain.

African elephant walking through dry grass, Tanzania

Tarangire National Park

Huge elephant herds, ancient baobabs and Tanzania’s endemic birds.

Lioness resting in an acacia tree, Tanzania

Lake Manyara National Park

Tree-climbing lions, groundwater forest and a soda lake full of waterbirds.

Ngorongoro Crater

A volcanic caldera with black rhino, lions and big grassland birds.

Wildebeest herds of the Great Migration, Serengeti

Serengeti National Park

Vast plains, the Great Migration and big cats all year round.

Ruaha National Park

Tanzania’s largest park: big predators, baobab plains and 570+ bird species.

Keep exploring

More wildlife to look for

See all wildlife

Mammal

Lion

Panthera leo

The Serengeti holds one of the largest lion populations left in Africa. Prides of twenty are not unusual.

Seen in

Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Ruaha National Park

Mammal

Leopard

Panthera pardus

Secretive and beautiful. The Seronera valley’s sausage trees are the best place in Africa to find one by day.

Seen in

Serengeti National Park, Tarangire National Park, Ruaha National Park, Lake Manyara National Park

Mammal

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

Built for the short grass plains. Watch one scan from a termite mound in the southern Serengeti.

Seen in

Serengeti National Park, Tarangire National Park, Ruaha National Park

Mammal

Black rhino

Diceros bicornis

Critically endangered and closely guarded. The Ngorongoro Crater is the most reliable place in Tanzania to see one.

Seen in

Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti National Park

Mammal

Cape buffalo

Syncerus caffer

The Big Five’s heavyweight. Herds of several hundred are a daily sight in Arusha National Park and the crater.

Seen in

Arusha National Park, Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Ruaha National Park

Giraffes on the plains with Mount Meru behind, northern Tanzania

Mammal

Masai giraffe

Giraffa tippelskirchi

Tanzania’s national animal, with jagged star-shaped patches. Common almost everywhere except inside the crater.

Seen in

Arusha National Park, Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Ruaha National Park, Lake Natron, Lake Eyasi

Zebras on the plains of northern Tanzania

Mammal

Plains zebra

Equus quagga

The migration’s other half. Hundreds of thousands of zebra move with the wildebeest across the Serengeti.

Seen in

Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire National Park, Arusha National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Lake Natron, Lake Eyasi

Mammal

Blue wildebeest

Connochaetes taurinus

The Great Migration itself: 1.5 million animals circling the Serengeti, calving in the south each February.

Seen in

Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire National Park

Start planning your safari

Tell us your dates and the birds or animals you most want to see. We’ll reply within 24 hours with a route and a full quote.

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