​Wildlife & Animals – Ngorongoro Crater

Philip Briggs
Expert
By Philip Briggs

Philip is a renowned Africa expert and author of many Bradt guidebooks to African destinations, including the guide to Tanzania.

Philip is a renowned Africa expert and author of the Bradt guidebook to Tanzania.

Philip is the author of the Bradt guidebook to Tanzania.

The star attraction of the Conservation Area is the Ngorongoro Crater: an extinct volcano teeming with wildlife. All major animals are easily seen. The only exception is giraffe, which is present in the Conservation Area, but not in the crater because of the steep descent. Elephant are common, including some very big tuskers, and all the big cats are prominent as well.

Abundant
Common
Occasional
Rare
None
ElephantCommon
GiraffeOccasional
HippoCommon
BuffaloCommon
ZebraAbundant
WildebeestAbundant
White RhinoNone
Black RhinoCommon
LionCommon
LeopardOccasional
CheetahCommon
HyenaAbundant
Wild DogVery Rare

Wildlife Highlights

A real special of the crater is the black rhino. Rhino is hard to see in Tanzania, and usually sticks to thick vegetation. This is not so in the crater, where they have a predictable routine of spending the night in Lerai forest, and the day in open grassland. Black-backed and golden jackal are equally common in the crater and the density of spotted hyena is quite extraordinary.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

Wildlife viewing is excellent in the crater throughout the year. The scenery of the crater is most spectacular in the Wet season, from November to May, but at that time the grass might be long in places. This can interfere with seeing some of the smaller animals. March and April are the wettest months.

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