​Wildlife & Animals – Chobe NP

Anthony Ham
Expert
By Anthony Ham

Anthony is a renowned Africa expert and author of many Lonely Planet guidebooks, including the Botswana & Namibia guide.

Anthony is a renowned Africa expert and author of the Botswana & Namibia Lonely Planet guide.

Anthony is the author of the Botswana & Namibia Lonely Planet guide.

Chobe National Park has an impressive wealth of animal life. Elephants and buffalo are a permanent presence on the riverbanks in the dry months. Plains zebra, puku and impala are very common as well, while smaller numbers of greater kudu and sable antelope can be found in the park interior. Lions are easily spotted and you might be lucky to see wild dogs too.

Abundant
Common
Occasional
Rare
None
ElephantAbundant
GiraffeCommon
HippoAbundant
BuffaloAbundant
ZebraAbundant
WildebeestOccasional
White RhinoNone
Black RhinoNone
LionCommon
LeopardRare
CheetahVery Rare
HyenaCommon
Wild DogOccasional

Wildlife Highlights

Thousands of animals on the floodplains kick up a lot of dust, which creates amazing photo opportunities at sunset. Less obvious are some of the smaller mammals such as the Chobe subspecies of bushbuck. Red lechwes are common in marshy areas. Some of the small predators include Selous' mongoose, serval and wild cat.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

Chobe has very seasonal wildlife viewing. The dry months, from May to October, are a good time to visit the Chobe River area in the north. During the Wet season, from December to April, animals tend to gather around the pans in the interior.

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