The wildlife of Tanzania

Big cats

African Lion

Panthera leo

The largest social cat, living in prides and ruling the Serengeti plains.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +7 more

Big cats

Leopard

Panthera pardus

A solitary, powerful climber that hides its kills in trees.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +7 more

Elephants

African Elephant

Loxodonta africana

The largest land animal on Earth, living in family herds led by a matriarch.

Tarangire, Nyerere +7 more

Bovids

African Buffalo

Syncerus caffer

A heavy, dangerous grazer that lives in herds of hundreds.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +7 more

Rhinos

Black Rhinoceros

Diceros bicornis

A rare, shy browser and the most endangered of the Big Five.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Serengeti +1 more

Big cats

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

The fastest land animal, hunting by day on open plains.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +2 more

Ungulates

Masai Giraffe

Giraffa tippelskirchi

The tallest animal on Earth, and Tanzania's national animal.

Serengeti, Tarangire +7 more

Antelopes

Blue Wildebeest

Connochaetes taurinus

The star of the Great Migration, with more than a million animals on the move.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +2 more

Carnivores

African Wild Dog

Lycaon pictus

A rare, highly social painted hunter that runs down prey in packs.

Nyerere, Ruaha +2 more

Primates

Chimpanzee

Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii

Our closest living relative, found in the forests of western Tanzania.

Mahale Mountains, Gombe Stream

Primates

Zanzibar Red Colobus

Piliocolobus kirkii

A rare monkey found only on Zanzibar, easy to see at Jozani Forest.

Jozani Forest, Zanzibar Stone Town +1 more

Whales & dolphins

Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops aduncus

A friendly, resident dolphin that lives in the bays around Zanzibar.

Kizimkazi, Nungwi +3 more

Sharks & rays

Whale Shark

Rhincodon typus

The world's largest fish, a gentle filter feeder that visits Mafia Island.

Mafia Island

Fish

West Indian Ocean Coelacanth

Latimeria chalumnae

A "living fossil" fish, thought extinct for 66 million years, found off the Tanzanian coast.

Flightless birds

Common Ostrich (Masai Ostrich)

Struthio camelus massaicus

The largest and fastest-running bird on Earth.

Serengeti, Tarangire +3 more

Rollers

Lilac-breasted Roller

Coracias caudatus

A brilliant, multicoloured bird that perches on bushes along the roadside.

Serengeti, Tarangire +5 more

Waterbirds

Lesser Flamingo

Phoeniconaias minor

Pink flocks that turn East African soda lakes into a moving carpet.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Lake Manyara +2 more

Crocodilians

Nile Crocodile

Crocodylus niloticus

A huge ambush predator that waits at the river crossing.

Serengeti, Saadani +4 more

Trees

African Baobab

Adansonia digitata

The upside-down tree, and the skyline of Tarangire.

Tarangire, Lake Eyasi +2 more

Trees

Umbrella Thorn Acacia

Vachellia tortilis

The flat-topped tree that defines the African savannah.

Serengeti, Tarangire +3 more

Carnivores

Spotted Hyena

Crocuta crocuta

A clever, powerful clan hunter with a famous laugh-like call.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +5 more

Ungulates

Plains Zebra

Equus quagga

A striped grazer that leads the Great Migration alongside wildebeest.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +6 more

Ungulates

Hippopotamus

Hippopotamus amphibius

A huge, semi-aquatic grazer that spends the day in water and feeds at night.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +6 more

Antelopes

Thomson's Gazelle

Eudorcas thomsonii

A small, fast antelope that flicks its tail as it grazes.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +1 more

Antelopes

Impala

Aepyceros melampus

A graceful antelope, common in herds, known for high jumps.

Serengeti, Tarangire +5 more

Antelopes

Common Eland

Taurotragus oryx

The largest antelope in Africa, a calm giant of the plains.

Lake Natron, Serengeti +2 more

Antelopes

Gerenuk

Litocranius walleri

A long-necked antelope that stands on its hind legs to browse.

Tarangire, Lake Natron

Antelopes

Greater Kudu

Tragelaphus strepsiceros

A tall antelope with corkscrew horns and white body stripes.

Ruaha, Tarangire +1 more

Antelopes

Sable Antelope

Hippotragus niger

A handsome black antelope with long, curved horns.

Nyerere, Ruaha +2 more

Antelopes

Topi

Damaliscus lunatus jimela

A glossy, purplish antelope that stands on termite mounds as a lookout.

Serengeti, Saadani +1 more

Antelopes

Waterbuck

Kobus ellipsiprymnus

A shaggy antelope with a white ring on its rump, never far from water.

Tarangire, Lake Manyara +3 more

Ungulates

Common Warthog

Phacochoerus africanus

A tusked, bristly grazer that trots away with its tail straight up.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +6 more

Small cats

Serval

Leptailurus serval

A slender, long-legged cat with huge ears and a leap that catches birds.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Serengeti +1 more

Small cats

Caracal

Caracal caracal

A tufted-eared cat that can leap high to catch birds in flight.

Serengeti, Tarangire +1 more

Carnivores

Bat-eared Fox

Otocyon megalotis

A small fox with huge ears that listens for insects underground.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +1 more

Carnivores

Black-backed Jackal

Lupulella mesomelas

A clever, opportunistic scavenger and hunter, often in pairs.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +4 more

Carnivores

Honey Badger

Mellivora capensis

A fearless, tough little carnivore with a reputation for taking on lions.

Serengeti, Tarangire +1 more

Antelopes

Kirk's Dik-dik

Madoqua kirkii

A tiny antelope, no bigger than a hare, that lives in pairs.

Tarangire, Lake Manyara +3 more

Antelopes

Klipspringer

Oreotragus oreotragus

A small antelope that stands on the tips of its hooves on rocky outcrops.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +1 more

Primates

Olive Baboon

Papio anubis

A big, bold monkey that lives in large troops and eats almost anything.

Lake Manyara, Mikumi +5 more

Primates

Vervet Monkey

Chlorocebus pygerythrus

A small grey monkey with a black face and sky-blue skin.

Tarangire, Lake Manyara +4 more

Primates

Blue Monkey

Cercopithecus mitis

A dark, forest-dwelling monkey that eats fruit high in the canopy.

Arusha, Lake Manyara +4 more

Primates

Black-and-white Colobus

Colobus guereza

A striking black monkey with a flowing white cape and tail.

Arusha, Mount Kilimanjaro +3 more

Primates

Iringa Red Colobus

Piliocolobus gordonorum

An endemic monkey of the Udzungwa Mountains, with a red crown and black back.

Udzungwa Mountains

Primates

Sanje Mangabey

Cercocebus sanjei

A rare monkey found only in the Udzungwa Mountains, first described in 1979.

Udzungwa Mountains

Primates

Kipunji

Rungwecebus kipunji

A rare monkey discovered in 2003, found only in two southern highland forests.

Udzungwa Mountains

Primates

Thick-tailed Bushbaby

Otolemur crassicaudatus

A big-eyed nocturnal primate whose call sounds like a crying baby.

Lake Manyara, Arusha +3 more

Whales & dolphins

Humpback Whale

Megaptera novaeangliae

A giant baleen whale that migrates through Tanzanian waters from July to October.

Pemba Island, Mafia Island +2 more

Turtles

Green Sea Turtle

Chelonia mydas

A large, gentle turtle that grazes on seagrass and nests on quiet beaches.

Mafia Island, Mnemba Atoll +3 more

Turtles

Hawksbill Turtle

Eretmochelys imbricata

A rare turtle with a hawk-like beak and a beautifully patterned shell.

Pemba Island, Mafia Island +1 more

Sharks & rays

Reef Manta Ray

Mobula alfredi

A graceful giant ray that glides through the reef channels of the islands.

Pemba Island, Mafia Island +1 more

Fish

Clownfish (Anemonefish)

Amphiprion spp.

The small orange fish that lives among the tentacles of sea anemones.

Prison Island (Changuu), Mnemba Atoll +3 more

Fish

Lake Tanganyika Cichlids

Cichlidae

Hundreds of colourful, endemic fish, found nowhere else than the world's deepest African lake.

Mahale Mountains, Gombe Stream

Fish

Lake Nyasa Cichlids

Cichlidae

Some of the world's most colourful freshwater fish, the "mbuna" of Lake Nyasa.

Raptors

Secretary Bird

Sagittarius serpentarius

A long-legged raptor that hunts by stamping on snakes and rodents.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +2 more

Ground birds

Kori Bustard

Ardeotis kori

Africa's heaviest flying bird, a giant walker of the plains.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +2 more

Raptors

Martial Eagle

Polemaetus bellicosus

Africa's largest eagle, a powerful hunter that can take small antelope.

Serengeti, Tarangire +1 more

Raptors

African Fish Eagle

Haliaeetus vocifer

A white-headed eagle whose ringing call is the sound of the African waterway.

Nyerere, Serengeti +5 more

Waterbirds

Saddle-billed Stork

Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis

A tall wader with a striking red, black and yellow bill.

Nyerere, Serengeti +3 more

Waterbirds

Grey Crowned Crane

Balearica regulorum

A regal, golden-crested crane that dances in the grassland.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Serengeti +2 more

Hornbills

Southern Ground Hornbill

Bucorvus leadbeateri

A huge black bird with red facial skin that walks through the savannah in groups.

Nyerere, Serengeti +2 more

Parrots

Fischer's Lovebird

Agapornis fischeri

A small green parrot with a red bill, found mostly in north-western Tanzania.

Serengeti, Tarangire

Parrots

Yellow-collared Lovebird

Agapornis personatus

A little green parrot with a black hood and yellow collar, endemic to Tanzania.

Tarangire, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +1 more

Weavers

Kilombero Weaver

Ploceus burnieri

A tiny weaver found only in the Kilombero floodplain of south-central Tanzania.

Udzungwa Mountains

Hornbills

Von der Decken's Hornbill

Tockus deckeni

A hornbill with a red and black bill, common at safari lodges.

Tarangire, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +2 more

Starlings

Superb Starling

Lamprotornis superbus

A glossy blue-green bird with a chestnut belly, common around camps.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +3 more

Waterbirds

Marabou Stork

Leptoptilos crumenifer

A huge, bare-headed stork that scavenges alongside vultures.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +3 more

Tortoises

Aldabra Giant Tortoise

Aldabrachelys gigantea

A giant tortoise from the Seychelles, kept on Prison Island since the 1800s.

Prison Island (Changuu)

Lizards

Nile Monitor

Varanus niloticus

A large, strong-swimming lizard often seen beside water.

Serengeti, Lake Manyara +4 more

Tortoises

Leopard Tortoise

Stigmochelys pardalis

A patterned, slow-walking tortoise of dry savannah.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation Area +2 more

Snakes

Black Mamba

Dendroaspis polylepis

Africa's fastest snake, shy but highly venomous.

Saadani, Nyerere +2 more

Snakes

African Rock Python

Python sebae

Africa's largest snake, a non-venomous constrictor.

Tarangire, Saadani +2 more

Trees

Fever Tree

Vachellia xanthophloea

A tree with glowing yellow-green bark, found near water.

Lake Manyara, Serengeti +2 more

Trees

Sausage Tree

Kigelia africana

A big tree that hangs sausage-shaped fruit as long as a person's arm.

Serengeti, Saadani +3 more

Alpine plants

Giant Groundsel

Dendrosenecio kilimanjari

A strange, cabbage-headed tree found only on the high slopes of Kilimanjaro.

Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Meru

Alpine plants

Giant Lobelia

Lobelia deckenii

A tall, spiky flowering plant of the high mountain moorland.

Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Meru

Flowering plants

African Violet

Streptocarpus (Saintpaulia) ionanthus

The original houseplant, discovered in the Usambara Mountains in 1892.

Usambara Mountains, Udzungwa Mountains

Trees

Red Mangrove

Rhizophora mucronata

A coastal tree that grows on stilt roots in salty tidal water.

Jozani Forest, Zanzibar Stone Town +4 more

Spice trees

Clove Tree

Syzygium aromaticum

The tree that made Zanzibar the "Spice Island".

Zanzibar Stone Town, Pemba Island +1 more

Trees

African Blackwood (Mpingo)

Dalbergia melanoxylon

A slow-growing, very dense tree used for clarinets and carvings.

Mount Kilimanjaro, Nyerere +2 more