Mana Pools National Park

Wildlife & Animals

Expert

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

Mana Pools National Park is home to most common safari animals, including four of the Big Five (no rhino). The park is famed for its elephants, but buffalo are also very common and large numbers of lion and other carnivores concentrate on the Zambezi floodplain from June to October. Other common wildlife on the floodplain includes zebra, hippo, warthog, greater kudu, waterbuck and eland.

ElephantAbundant

GiraffeNone

HippoCommon

BuffaloCommon

ZebraCommon

WildebeestNone

White RhinoNone

Black RhinoNone

LionCommon

LeopardOccasional

CheetahRare

HyenaCommon

Wild DogOccasional

Wildlife Highlights

Elephants are the most reliable show-stealers in Mana Pools. Marvel at long-tusked bulls as they raise themselves on their hind legs and stretch out their trunks to shake or pluck nutritious pods off winterthorn trees. Lions are the most common carnivore, but the park also supports a high density of leopards and several packs of African wild dog. Fearless honey badgers, usually extremely secretive, are sometimes spotted at night around camps.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

From June to October, during the middle and end of the Dry season, is the best time for wildlife viewing in the park. Wildlife is easier to spot at this time because vegetation is thinner and animals gather around the pools on the floodplains of the Zambezi River. Many roads become impassable during the rains (November to March) and may remain so well into April.