Nyika National Park

Wildlife & Animals

Nyika Safaris

Expert

Philip is the author of the Bradt guidebook to Malawi.

Although Nyika National Park supports a variety of grazers and birds, it is not somewhere to visit if your priority is ticking off the Big Five. Leopards are seen quite regularly, especially on night drives, but rhino are absent, buffalo are probably extinct, and lions only visit occasionally. The park supports a fair number of elephants, including a herd of 34 that was translocated from Liwonde National Park in 2017. However, they seldom venture into areas accessible to tourists.

ElephantOccasional

GiraffeNone

HippoNone

BuffaloNone

ZebraCommon

WildebeestNone

White RhinoNone

Black RhinoNone

LionRare

LeopardOccasional

CheetahNone

HyenaOccasional

Wild DogNone

Wildlife Highlights

Nyika Plateau supports around 3,000 Crawshay’s zebra, a localized subspecies notable for its narrow stripes. Eland (the world’s largest antelope) and roan antelope are both very common. Nyika has Malawi’s highest density of leopards, which are quite often seen on night drives. Other wildlife includes warthog, yellow baboon, side-striped jackal, common reedbuck, bushbuck and common duiker. The dainty klipspringer is sometimes seen standing statue-like on granite outcrops.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

Wildlife viewing in Nyika NP is good throughout the year. The best months to visit are from November to May, as this is the warmest time of the year. From June to August, it tends to be pleasant by day but very cold after dark, which makes the otherwise popular night drives more challenging.