South Luangwa National Park

Wildlife & Animals

Expert

Philip is our Zambia expert and author of more than 20 guidebooks to Africa.

Wildlife viewing in South Luangwa National Park is fantastic. You’ll likely see plenty of animals here including four of the Big Five (only rhino is missing). Elephants regularly cross the river and herds of buffalo can be hundreds strong. Lion and leopard are equally common, and night drives are very productive for seeing spotted hyenas, genet, bush baby and maybe even porcupine.

ElephantAbundant

GiraffeCommon

HippoAbundant

BuffaloAbundant

ZebraCommon

WildebeestRare

White RhinoNone

Black RhinoNone

LionCommon

LeopardCommon

CheetahNone

HyenaCommon

Wild DogOccasional

Wildlife Highlights

The Luangwa Valley has a few very special animals. Most iconic is the endemic Thornicroft’s giraffe with its cryptic patterns. Also look out for Cookson’s wildebeest, another endemic to the country. Last but not least is Crawshay's zebra, a regional subspecies with distinctive stripes. Other, more widespread rarities include roan antelope and the diminutive Sharpe’s grysbok.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

The best time to visit South Luangwa is the middle and end of the Dry season: July to October. During these months you will see lots of wildlife because the bush in the park isn’t as dense and the animals have gathered around the pools of the Luangwa River.