Lake Manyara National Park

Wildlife & Animals

Expert

Philip is the author of the Bradt guidebook to Tanzania.

Lake Manyara National Park is known for its legendary tree-climbing lions and impressively tusked elephants. Large buffalo, wildebeest and zebra herds gather on the grassy plains. The escarpment is home to a dense leopard population, but you’ll need some luck to see one of these secretive big cats.

ElephantCommon

GiraffeCommon

HippoCommon

BuffaloCommon

ZebraCommon

WildebeestCommon

White RhinoNone

Black RhinoNone

LionOccasional

LeopardRare

CheetahNone

HyenaOccasional

Wild DogVery Rare

Wildlife Highlights

The forest patch at the entrance of the park is home to habituated troops of olive baboons and blue monkeys. The occasional bushbuck can also be spotted here, darting off in the undergrowth. Cute little dik-diks with their Bambi eyes and wriggly noses are common, and klipspringer pairs are sometimes seen balancing on the rocks at the far south of the park.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

Although Lake Manyara offers reasonable wildlife viewing throughout the year, the Dry season (June to October) is the best time. Wildlife is easier to spot because vegetation is thinner and animals gather around predictable water sources. The Wet season (November to May) offers the most beautiful scenery, but March and April tends to have a lot of rainfall.