The wildlife of Tanzania

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.

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.