Etosha National Park

Wildlife & Animals

Expert

By Anthony Ham

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

Wildlife viewing in Etosha is exceptionally good during the Dry season. The variety and sheer number of animals is outstanding. Four of the Big Five are present in good numbers, only buffalo is absent. Elephants roam in large herds. A constant stream of herbivores is commonly seen at waterholes. They include blue wildebeest, zebra, giraffe and several desert-adapted antelopes such as springbok and gemsbok. Dusk and dawn is the best time for spotting black rhino, lion, leopard and cheetah.

ElephantAbundant

GiraffeCommon

HippoNone

BuffaloNone

ZebraAbundant

WildebeestAbundant

White RhinoVery Rare

Black RhinoRare

LionOccasional

LeopardVery Rare

CheetahVery Rare

HyenaOccasional

Wild DogNone

Wildlife Highlights

Etosha has two near-endemic antelopes (only small numbers occur in neighboring Angola): the elegant black-faced impala, which can be found in breeding and bachelor herds, and the tiny damara dik-dik, usually spotted in pairs. Etosha has a healthy lion population nearly 500-strong. Some of the less common predators are honey badger and bat-eared fox. Black rhino is a rare treat in the park, best spotted at night at one of the floodlit waterholes near the rest camps.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

Etosha is a very seasonal park and, although it can be visited throughout the year, all the action happens during the dry months from May to October. At this time water supplies are restricted to a few waterholes and the grass is short, making wildlife-watching very easy. Animals disperse during the Wet season from November to April and wildlife viewing isn't as productive during these months.