Photograph of Serval

The long-legged Serval, here in the Ngorongoro Crater, by Francesco Veronesi.

NORTHERN TANZANIA

Best Wildlife in Northern Tanzania

Mammals
Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, African Elephant, Giraffe, Hippopotamus, Black Rhinoceros, Spotted Hyaena, Burchell's Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, African Buffalo, Serval, (Eastern) Black-and-white Colobus Monkey, Olive Baboon, Bat-eared Fox, Spring Hare, Zanj Elephant Shrew, Eland, Waterbuck, Topi, Hartebeest, Impala, Grant's and Thomson's Gazelles, Klipspringer and Comores Flying Fox. Also a chance of Aardvark, Aardwolf, Crested Porcupine and Humpback Whale (mostly Aug), and an outside chance of African Wild Dog, Dugong and Ground Pangolin.

Birds
Lesser and Greater Flamingos, (Common) Ostrich, African Fish Eagle, Secretary Bird, Black and Goliath Herons, Saddle-billed Stork, Hamerkop and Kori Bustard, Crab Plover and Golden-winged Sunbird, a few of the 20 or so Tanzanian endemics including Grey-breasted Spurfowl, Fischer's and Yellow-collared Lovebirds (introduced elsewhere), Ashy Starling and Rufous-tailed Weaver, some near-endemics including Hartlaub's Turaco, Grey-crested Helmetshrike, Northern Pied Babbler and Pangani Longclaw, as well as Great White and Pink-backed Pelicans, White Stork (mostly Nov-Mar), many raptors including vultures, Martial Eagle and Pygmy Falcon, bustards, Grey Crowned Crane, Blacksmith and Chestnut-banded Plovers, Black-winged Lapwing, (Pied) Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, African Jacana, Temminck's Courser, Sooty Gull, sandgrouse including Yellow-throated, pigeons and doves, owls including Verreaux's Eagle Owl, mousebirds, Narina Trogon, kingfishers including Mangrove, bee-eaters including Cinnamon-chested, Lilac-breasted Roller, Hoopoe, woodhoopoes, hornbills, Southern Ground Hornbill, barbets including Red-and-yellow, shrikes including Magpie, African Paradise Flycatcher, Silverbird, robin-chats, starlings including Superb, Red-billed and Yellow-billed Oxpeckers, over 20 sunbirds including Malachite, Rosy-breasted Longclaw, weavers, widowbirds, bishops, waxbills and whydahs. Also a chance of African Crowned Eagle, Greater Painted Snipe, Bar-tailed Trogon and Giant Kingfisher.

Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish
Nile Crocodile, Whale Shark (mostly Feb-Mar and Aug-Sep) and many coral reef fish.

Other Natural Wonders of Northern Tanzania

Serengeti-Masai Mara The ultimate African plains, covering about 25,000 sq km (9650 sq miles), of which about 23,500 sq km (9060 sq miles) are in the Serengeti.

Ngorongoro Crater Not a crater at all but the largest complete, unflooded caldera on Earth, a nearly circular depression with a diameter of about 20 km (12 miles) and steep slopes which rise about 600 m (2000 ft) from the floor, the result of an ancient volcano collapsing. It is inhabited by many mammals and birds, but not Giraffes which are unable to traverse the steep walls, or female Elephants (just huge, lone bulls).

Kilimanjaro The 'mountain that glitters', the translation from Swahili to English, is the highest peak in Africa, rising imposingly over 4600 m (15,000 ft) from the surrounding plains to 5892 m (19,330 ft) above sea level. This huge, isolated, inactive, snow-capped volcano covers an area of about 100 km (60 miles) by 65 km (40 miles) and dominates the landscape over a huge area.

Best Sites for Wildlife in Northern Tanzania

Best Times for Wildlife in Northern Tanzania

The best time to visit in search of mammals is February-March when many grazing animals are giving birth to calves and therefore attracting many predators in the southeast Serengeti, and June when the migrating animals, mainly wildebeest, cross the Grumeti River in the north Serengeti. The Blue Wildebeest migration depends on the rains but the largest gathering of ungulates (hoofed mammals) in the world takes place in the Serengeti during the wet season which usually lasts from November to May. There are usually one to two million large mammals, mostly wildebeest, in the southeast Serengeti by January and they stay until April, usually calving in February-March when they attract numerous predators. In May-June there is a general movement of animals northwest through the central Serengeti, a time when herds of wildebeest up to 40 km (25 miles) long have been seen from the air. They are heading west toward Lake Victoria and north to the Masai Mara in Kenya and the wildebeest, as well as numerous Burchell's Zebras and Thomson's Gazelles, usually reach the Grumeti River in June (sometimes July). Then, at several places along the river, they may be seen struggling across, desperately trying to avoid the crocodiles. Those that make it usually remain in the Mara until October-November when they begin their return to the Serengeti.

Birding is good in February-March and June too but the peak time for birds is April when many resident birds nest and are therefore at their most active and attractive.

Recommended Books etc. for Northern Tanzania

Watching Wildlife: East Africa by M D Firestone et al. Lonely Planet, 2009 (Second Edition).

Bradt Travel Guide: East African Wildlife by P Briggs. Bradt, 2008.

Collins Traveller's Guide: Wildlife of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda by D Hosking and M Withers. Collins, 2006.

Mammals of Africa by M Andrews. Collins, due 2011.

The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals by J Kingdon. A & C Black, 2003.

The Kingdon Pocket Guide to African Mammals by J Kingdon. A & C Black, 2004.

Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa by J Fanshawe and T Stevenson. Helm, 2004.

Field Guide to the Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania by D Pearson et al. Helm, 2005.

Birds of Africa south of the Sahara by I Sinclair and P Ryan. C Struik, 2011 (Second Edition).

Birds of Eastern Africa by Ber Van Perlo. Harper Collins, 2009 (Second Edition).


Kingdon eGuide to African Mammals.

Trip Reports for Northern Tanzania

Many trip reports, some for Northern Tanzania, are posted on the websites listed here. On some of these websites some reports are independent and some are posted by tour companies who organize tours to Northern Tanzania. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to Northern Tanzania' below.

Local Guides and Tours in Northern Tanzania

The costs of organized tours partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ. If you are travelling independently, employing such local guides will greatly increase your chances of seeing the wildlife you wish to see.

Accommodation in Northern Tanzania


Some Organized Tours to Northern Tanzania

There are many tour companies who organize tours to see mammals, birds, other wildlife and other natural wonders. The cost of these tours vary considerably according to such variables as the airlines used, the number of days the tours last, the number of sites visited, the number of people in the group (an important consideration if you wish to see such wildlife as rainforest mammals and birds), the number of tour leaders, the standard of accommodation and transport, and the percentage profit the company hopes to make. Generally, where the number of days tours last and the number of sites visited are similar, the cheapest tours are those that use the cheapest airlines, accommodation and local transport, that have the largest groups with the least number of leaders, and that make the least amount of profit. The most expensive tours tend to be those which are exceptionally long, use the most expensive accommodation (ridiculously lavish in some cases, even for single nights) and which make the most profit. Some tour costs partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ.

While tour companies organize tours with set itineraries many also organize custom tours for individuals and private groups who instead of taking a tour with a set itinerary want to follow their own itinerary to suit their own personal tastes, whether it be mammals, birds, other wildlife, other natural wonders or even man-made attractions, or a mixture of them all. Many organized tours with set itineraries are also fast-paced and target as many species as possible, whether they are mammals, birds or other wildlife or everything, which usually leaves little time to enjoy the best sites and individual species, but on a custom tour those taking part can specify the pace and the sites and species they wish to concentrate on. Custom tours also suit people who like to travel with people they already know, rather than with a group of strangers, and people with partners with different interests. Individuals and small groups will almost certainly have to pay more than the price of an organized tour with a set itinerary but a large group of friends may be able to travel for less than the price quoted for a set tour.

Tour companies who run organized tours or can arrange custom tours to Northern Tanzania include the following.