Where to See Animals in Tanzania

Almost none of Tanzania's wild animals are in a zoo. They are in the country's national parks and conservation areas -- the Serengeti's migrating wildebeest, the Ngorongoro Crater's dense herds, Tarangire's elephants -- which is where you should plan a trip around if seeing them is the point. Dar es Salaam Zoo, the only zoo the directory lists for Tanzania, keeps a general collection in Tanzania's largest city for visitors who aren't heading to a park.

Where Tanzania's animals actually are

Tanzania holds around 20% of Africa's large mammal species, with 310 mammal species -- the fourth-highest count on the continent -- and 960 bird species, the third-highest. TANAPA, formed in 1959, now manages 22 national parks covering roughly 99,300 km2, about the size of Croatia.

The Serengeti is the centrepiece. At 14,763 km2, it holds more than 3,000 lions and an elephant population that had passed 5,000 by 2014, and it's the stage for the wildebeest migration: around half a million calves are born in the neighbouring Ngorongoro Conservation Area between January and March, then by March the main herd, roughly 1.5 million wildebeest and 250,000 zebras, starts moving north towards Kenya's Maasai Mara. It turns back south once the dry season ends in late October.

The Ngorongoro Crater packs about 25,000 large animals, mostly ungulates, into one collapsed volcanic caldera -- and its black rhinos, down to just 13 in 1993, have recovered to 55 as of 2018. Tarangire National Park, at 2,850 km2, is known instead for its density of elephants and baobab trees, with large herds of zebra, wildebeest and buffalo concentrating there in the June-to-November dry season. And Nyerere National Park, at 30,893 km2 roughly the size of Belgium, is Tanzania's largest park -- created in 2019 out of the northern part of Selous Game Reserve, and known for its population of endangered African wild dogs.

All of the northern parks -- Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire -- sit around Arusha, which is close to each of them as well as to Lake Manyara National Park, Olduvai Gorge and Mount Kilimanjaro. Nyerere, in the south, is the one within reach of Dar es Salaam itself.

Best time for a safari

The dry season is the better one for watching wildlife concentrate. In the Ngorongoro Crater, 20% or more of the wildebeest and half the zebra population leave during the wet season, so more animals stay visible in the dry months. Tarangire follows the same pattern: its elephants, zebras, wildebeest and buffalo gather in large herds through the June-to-November dry season, drawn by its river as other water sources dry up. The Serengeti migration itself moves with the seasons rather than pausing for one -- north from March, south again once the dry season breaks in late October -- so which part of the circuit shows you the migration depends on when you go.

What Dar es Salaam Zoo offers

Featured location Dar es Salaam Zoo Dar es Salaam, Tanzania The zoo lies in the Kigamboni district on the eastern side of the city, 37 km from downtown. It is best known for Tanzanian native species, among them zebras, crocodiles, antelopes, tortoises, big cats and birds.

If you're in Dar es Salaam rather than out on safari, the zoo is what's actually there. It sits in the Kigamboni district, 37km from downtown, and is described as one of the largest zoos in East Africa. Its animals include zebras, crocodiles, antelopes, tortoises, gazelles, monkeys, hyenas, lions, leopards, snakes and a range of birds -- a general collection rather than a Serengeti in miniature.

It's built as much for a family day out as for the animals. There's a kids' zone with slides, swings and jungle gyms, a swimming pool for children and teenagers under 13, and the chance to get close to and interact with monkeys, horses, donkeys and camels. The Nguva River is one of its bigger draws.

Getting there

The zoo is 37km from downtown Dar es Salaam, in Kigamboni. If you want to add a national park instead, Nyerere is the one within reach of the city: 184-230km by road depending on which gate you use, about six hours' drive, or under an hour on the daily scheduled flights that connect Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar to its airstrips. The northern parks -- Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire -- are a different trip, built around Arusha rather than Dar es Salaam.