Tanzania & Zanzibar
Sunset from the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro
I’ve been to Tanzania 3 times. In 1991 I spent a couple of weeks in Tanzania. I couldn’t afford to do much mammal watching at the time, though the train from Zambia was held up as we travelled through Tanzania’s Selous National Park because a Masai Giraffe was on the tracks. I also saw several Harteebest from the train. In Zanzibar, Zanzibar Red Colobus and Blue (Sykes) Monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis albogularis) were pretty easy to find in the Jozani Forest Reserve.
I returned for a few days in November 2011 mainly to look for Ader’s Duiker on Zanzibar and to spend a little time with Charles Foley around Arusha. I returned in February 2016 and spent weekends in the Udzungwa Mountains and on Manyara Ranch (near Arusha).
Yellow-winged Bat, Lavia frons, Manyara Ranch
Arusha Area
Arusha (1 night, 2011): Ochre Bush Squirrel, Four-toed Hedgehog.
Kilimanjaro foothills (2 nights, 2011): Mesic Four-striped Grass Mouse, Natal Multimammate Mouse, Rusty-spotted Genet, African Civet, Wild Cat, Serval, White-tailed Mongoose, Spotted Hyena, Side-striped Jackal, Zorilla (Striped Polecat), Large-eared Slit-faced Bat, Mount Kilimanjaro Colobus, Olive Baboon, Warthog, Masai Giraffe, Steenbok , Suni, African Buffalo, Bushbuck, Natal Red (Harvey’s) Duiker, Bush Duiker, Burchell’s Zebra. See the 2011 report below.
Eastern Tree Hyrax, Dendrohyrax valid, Udzungwa National Park
Manyara Ranch Conservancy (2 nights, 2016): Cape Hare, Unstriped Ground Squirrel, Ochre Bush Squirrel, Wilson’s Spiny Mous, Least Gerbil, Fringe-tailed Gerbil, Natal Multimammate Mouse, East African Spring Hare, Common Genet, Cheetah, Banded Mongoose, White-tailed Mongoose, Eastern Aardwolf, Bat-eared Fox, Black-backed Jackal, Yellow-winged Bat, Senegal Galago, Olive Baboon, Vervet Monkey, Warthog, Masai Giraffe, Grant’s Gazelle, Thomson’s Gazelle, Thomas’s Dik-dik, Lesser Kudu, Eland, Waterbuck, Blue Wildebeest, Impala, Burchell’s Zebra. See the 2016 report report below.
Sanje Mangabey, Cercocebus sanje, Udzungwa National Park
Udzunwga Mountains
Udzungwa National Park: 2 nights, 2016: Swynnerton’s Bush Squirrel, Angola Pied Colobus, Udzungwa Red Colobus,Yellow Baboon, Sanje Mangabey, Blue Monkey, Vervet Monkey, Eastern Tree Hyrax. See the 2016 report report below.
Zanzibar coast
Zanzibar
Three nights, 2011: Black-and-rufous Elephant-Shrew, Zanj Sun Squirrel, Red Bush Squirrel, East African Giant Pouched Rat, Zanzibar Galago, Zanzibar Red Colobus, Blue (Sykes’) Monkey, Indo-Pacific Bottle-nosed Dolphin, Aders’ Duiker, Blue Duiker. See the 2011 report below.
Community Reports
The Udzungwas and Ruaha, 2024: Micah Swanson-Mwamasika’s report of some good species including Sanje Mangabey, Grey-faced Sengi and a possible Swinnerton’s Bush Squirrel.
Serval & Caracal Tour, 2023: Cat Expeditions, 1 week & 29 species including 5 Servals, Eastern Aardwolf and Egyptian Mongoose.
Kilimanjaro & Zanzibar, 2022: Murray T’s notes focusing on two lodges where species can be seen close to camp. Species include Zanzibar Red Colobus, Black and Rufous Sengi, Ratel and Crested Porcupine.
Tanzania, 2022: Alex Schouten and Jeannette den Hertog, 5 weeks & 25 species , with 8 primates including the Kipunji, Sanje River Mangaby and Udzungwa Red Colobus.
Tanzania & Kenya Bovids, 2022: Marcus Burkhardt, 2 weeks with species including Serval and Suni.
Tanzania & Zanzibar, 2022: Royle Safaris‘, 8 days & 54 species including Ader’s Duiker, Black and Red Elephant Shrew & Zanzibar Dwarf Galago.
Zanzibar & Northern Tanzania, 2022: Hugh Lansdown, 10 days & 36 species including Suni, Golden Wolf and Black and Rufous Elephant Shrew.
Abbott’s Duiker, 2022: Charles Foley’s report of a very rare, and super cool, Abbott’s Duiker on Kilimanjaro.
Zanzibar, 2022: Stuart Chapman, a few days and some nice species including Black and Rufous Elephant Shrew, Zanzibar Galago and a Palm Civet.
Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya, 2021: Pictus Safaris, 30 days & 81 species including Ader’s Duiker, Maned Rat and Kipunji.
Big Mammal Day – Tarangire, 2019: Charles Foley’s fabulous report of 24 hours in the Tarangire ecosytem with an obscene 64 species including Aardvark, Zorilla, and some nice bats. This might be the most entertaining trip report yet on this site: better than Harry Potter.
Big Mammal Day, 2018: Charles Foley’s entertaining account of 24 hours & 60 species in the Serengeti including Roan and Banana Pipistrelle.
Southern Tanzania, 2018: Keith Millar, 2 weeks & 40 species including Honey Badger, Southern and Eastern Tree Hyrax, McMillan’s Thicket Rat and Red Rock Rat.
Tanzania, 2017: Samuel Marlin, 2 weeks & 39 species including Wild Dog, Sanje Mangabey and – the very cool – Peter’s Elephant Shrew.
Tanzania, 2017: Valentin Moser, 8 weeks & many species including Black and Rufous Elephant Shrew, African Palm Civet, Bushy-tailed Mongoose and Servaline Genet.
Tanzania, 2017: Theo Linders. 3.5 weeks & 66 species including Sanje Mangabey, Mountain Dwarf Galago, Servaline Genet and a Kipunji.
Arusha and the Udzungwas, 2016: Jon Hall, 4 days & 39 species including Udzungwa Red Colobus, Sanje Mangabey, Eastern Aardwolf and a Yellow-winged Bat.
Tanzania, 2015: Stefan Lithner, 19 days & 80 species including Servaline Genet, African Palm Civet, Southern Tree Hyrax, Demon Mole-rat and other interesting rodents.
Northern Tanzania, 2014: Bob Berghaier, lots of big game with more unusual species including Acacia Rat.
Southern Tanzania, 2014: Bob Berghaier, with more unusual species including Tanganyika Tree Squirrel, Iringa Red Colobus, Small-eared Greater Galago & Honey Badgers.
Tanzania, 2013: INDRI tours, 15 days & 46 species including Harvey’s Duiker and an Aardwolf.
Kenya & Tanzania, 2013: Venkat Sankar, 2 weeks & 76 species including Red-tailed Monkey, East African Mole Rat, Serval, Bushy-tailed and Marsh Mongooses.
Tanzania & Zanzibar, 2013: Bob Berghaier, 10 days and many species including Ader’s Duiker, Suni and Aardwolf.
Kenya & Tanzania, 2013: Indri Tours, 17 days & 51 species including 3 Honey Badgers, Striped Hyena and Caracal.
Tanzania, 2013: Tomer Ben-Yehuda, 12 days & 53 species including Ratel, Marsh Mongoose and Bush Hyrax.
Tanzania, 2012: Pieter de Groot Boersma’s video log of mammals. Part 1 includes Hardwood’s Gerbil and Part 2 includes Lushoto Mountain Squirrel.
Tanzania, 2012: Indri Tours, 13 days & 47 species including an Aardwolf, Blue Duiker and Egyptian Mongoose.
Arusha & Zanzibar, 2011: Jon Hall, 5 days & 34 species including Ader’s Duiker and a Four-toed Hedgehog.
Tanzania, 2011: Indri Tours, 11 days & 42 species including an Aardwolf.
Tanzania & Kenya, 2011: Indri Tours, 2 weeks & 48 species including Yellow-winged Bat, Giant Forest Hog, Grevy’s Zebra and Gerenuk.
Tanzania & Zanzibar, 2011: Phil Telfer, 11 days & 50 species including Rufous and Black Elephant Shrews, White-breasted Hedgehog and Yellow-winged Bat as well as more traditional safari fodder.
Zanzibar 2009: Charles Foley’s notes on a site in Zanzibar where Ader’s Duiker and – apparently – Blue Duiker, Suni, Zazibar Colobus and Rufous and Black Elephant Shrew are common.
Serengeti, Ngorongoro & Lake Manyara, 2005: Greg Easton, 1 week & 37 species including Caracal and Bush Hyrax.
Charles Foley’s account of the world’s first Big Mammal Day (a 24 hour race to see as many species as possible) in the Serengeti netted a remarkable 42 species.
Also See
RFI The Udzungwas, July 2024
RFI Southern Tanzania (The Udzungwas and Dodoma), December 2023
Golden cats recorded for first time in Tanzania, June 2019.
Resources
Charles and Lara Foley’s Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Tanzania (2014), Princeton University Press. Charles is a regular contributor to this site and the quality and usefulness of this guide reflects that. It includes a really helpful key for each park outlining what you can expect to see in a visit of 2 day, 5 days or longer. Indispensable!
An online key to the mammals of Tanzania.
An old but still useful annotated list of the mammals of Zanzibar and Pemba.
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