Challenge

Africa's Big Cats

Q: Where is the best place to see Africa's Big Cats?

Serengeti National Park. In Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, the chance of seeing all 3 (lion, leopard and cheetah) on the same day is about 40%, the highest of the 18 parks where all of them live, and over a three-day visit it rises to about 90%. Next come Masai Mara National Reserve (about 20% a day), Moremi Game Reserve (about 10% a day) and Etosha National Park (about 10% a day). It multiplies each animal's daily chance, as if they were independent, so read it as a rough guide.

Q: Which of Africa's Big Cats is hardest to see?

Leopard. In Serengeti National Park, the best park for Africa's Big Cats, about about 60% of wildlife watchers report the leopard on a given day, against about 80% for the lion. The hardest one decides how many days you need.

Q: How do you complete Africa's Big Cats on Wallace's Line?

Mark them as seen. Tick ✓ Seen on each animal's card, add your trips, or link your iNaturalist account. Your passport counts Africa's Big Cats three ways: anywhere in the world, all in one park, and all in a single trip.

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The checklist: 3 animals

Panthera leo

Daily sighting probability ~80% · Very likely

Panthera pardus

Daily sighting probability ~80% · Very likely

Acinonyx jubatus

Daily sighting probability ~70% · Very likely

Where to go

Chance of seeing in

Month by month at Serengeti National Park

~90%

Jan

>90%

Feb

~80%

Mar

~70%

Apr

~80%

May

~90%

Jun

~90%

Jul

~90%

Aug

~90%

Sep

~90%

Oct

~90%

Nov

~90%

Dec

Time of day

Where they are recorded most Parks with some of them

Parks

#	Park	Country	Animals	All 3 in 3 days
1	Serengeti National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	3 of 3	~90%
	Lion			>90%
	Leopard			>90%
	Cheetah			>90%
2	Masai Mara National Reserve	🇰🇪 Kenya	3 of 3	~80%
	Lion			>90%
	Leopard			~90%
	Cheetah			>90%
3	Moremi Game Reserve	🇧🇼 Botswana	3 of 3	~60%
	Lion			>90%
	Leopard			~90%
	Cheetah			~70%
4	Samburu National Reserve	🇰🇪 Kenya	3 of 3	~50%
	Lion			~80%
	Leopard			~80%
	Cheetah			~90%
5	Etosha National Park	🇳🇦 Namibia	3 of 3	~50%
	Lion			>90%
	Leopard			~70%
	Cheetah			~80%
6	Kruger National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	3 of 3	~50%
	Lion			~90%
	Leopard			~80%
	Cheetah			~70%
7	Tarangire National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	3 of 3	~50%
	Lion			~90%
	Leopard			~80%
	Cheetah			~70%
8	Kafue National Park	🇿🇲 Zambia	3 of 3	~50%
	Lion			~90%
	Leopard			~80%
	Cheetah			~60%
9	Ngorongoro Conservation Area	🇹🇿 Tanzania	3 of 3	~50%
	Lion			>90%
	Leopard			~60%
	Cheetah			~80%
10	Tsavo East National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	3 of 3	~40%
	Lion			>90%
	Leopard			~50%
	Cheetah			~80%
11	Hwange National Park	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	3 of 3	~40%
	Lion			~90%
	Leopard			~60%
	Cheetah			~60%
12	Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	3 of 3	~40%
	Lion			~90%
	Leopard			~50%
	Cheetah			~80%
13	Pilanesberg National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	3 of 3	~30%
	Lion			~80%
	Leopard			~70%
	Cheetah			~60%
14	Chobe National Park	🇧🇼 Botswana	3 of 3	~30%
	Lion			>90%
	Leopard			~80%
	Cheetah			~40%
15	Tsavo West National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	3 of 3	~30%
	Lion			~80%
	Leopard			~90%
	Cheetah			~40%
16	uMkhuze Game Reserve	🇿🇦 South Africa	3 of 3	~20%
	Lion			~80%
	Leopard			~40%
	Cheetah			~60%
17	Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	3 of 3	~10%
	Lion			~80%
	Leopard			~30%
	Cheetah			~70%
18	iSimangaliso Wetland Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	3 of 3	<5%
	Lion			~30%
	Leopard			~40%
	Cheetah			~20%
19	Murchison Falls National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	2 of 3	Missing: Cheetah
	Lion			~90%
	Leopard			~80%
20	Queen Elizabeth National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	2 of 3	Missing: Cheetah
	Lion			~90%
	Leopard			~80%
21	Ruaha National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	2 of 3	Missing: Cheetah
	Lion			>90%
	Leopard			~80%
22	South Luangwa National Park	🇿🇲 Zambia	2 of 3	Missing: Cheetah
	Lion			>90%
	Leopard			>90%
23	Akagera National Park	🇷🇼 Rwanda	2 of 3	Missing: Cheetah
	Lion			~90%
	Leopard			~80%
24	Liwonde National Park	🇲🇼 Malawi	2 of 3	Missing: Leopard
	Lion			~90%
	Cheetah			~90%
25	Mikumi National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	2 of 3	Missing: Cheetah
	Lion			>90%
	Leopard			~40%
26	Gir National Park	🇮🇳 India	2 of 3	Missing: Cheetah
	Lion			>90%
	Leopard			~80%
27	Mana Pools National Park	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	2 of 3	Missing: Cheetah
	Lion			~90%
	Leopard			~80%
28	Amboseli National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	2 of 3	Missing: Leopard
	Lion			~90%
	Cheetah			~80%
29	Lower Zambezi National Park	🇿🇲 Zambia	2 of 3	Missing: Cheetah
	Lion			~90%
	Leopard			~70%
30	Lake Nakuru National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	2 of 3	Missing: Cheetah
	Lion			~80%
	Leopard			~60%
31	Nairobi National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	2 of 3	Missing: Cheetah
	Lion			~90%
	Leopard			~30%
32	Waterberg Plateau Park	🇳🇦 Namibia	2 of 3	Missing: Lion
	Leopard			~60%
	Cheetah			~60%
33	Wilpattu National Park	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	1 of 3	Missing: Lion, Cheetah
	Leopard			>90%
34	Yala National Park	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	1 of 3	Missing: Lion, Cheetah
	Leopard			>90%
35	Meru National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	1 of 3	Missing: Leopard, Cheetah
	Lion			~90%
36	Gorongosa National Park	🇲🇿 Mozambique	1 of 3	Missing: Leopard, Cheetah
	Lion			~90%
37	Nagarhole National Park	🇮🇳 India	1 of 3	Missing: Lion, Cheetah
	Leopard			~90%
38	Ranthambore National Park	🇮🇳 India	1 of 3	Missing: Lion, Cheetah
	Leopard			~80%
39	Virunga National Park	🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	1 of 3	Missing: Leopard, Cheetah
	Lion			~70%
40	Addo Elephant National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 3	Missing: Leopard, Cheetah
	Lion			~70%
41	Gonarezhou National Park	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	1 of 3	Missing: Leopard, Cheetah
	Lion			~70%
42	Niokolo-Koba National Park	🇸🇳 Senegal	1 of 3	Missing: Leopard, Cheetah
	Lion			~70%
43	Kanha National Park	🇮🇳 India	1 of 3	Missing: Lion, Cheetah
	Leopard			~70%
44	Royal Bardia National Park	🇳🇵 Nepal	1 of 3	Missing: Lion, Cheetah
	Leopard			~60%
45	Odzala-Kokoua National Park	🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo	1 of 3	Missing: Lion, Cheetah
	Leopard			~60%
46	Lake Manyara National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	1 of 3	Missing: Leopard, Cheetah
	Lion			~50%
47	Bandipur National Park	🇮🇳 India	1 of 3	Missing: Lion, Cheetah
	Leopard			~50%
48	Kaeng Krachan National Park	🇹🇭 Thailand	1 of 3	Missing: Lion, Cheetah
	Leopard			~50%
49	Udawalawe National Park	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	1 of 3	Missing: Lion, Cheetah
	Leopard			~40%
50	Namib-Naukluft National Park	🇳🇦 Namibia	1 of 3	Missing: Lion, Cheetah
	Leopard			~20%
51	Garden Route National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 3	Missing: Lion, Cheetah
	Leopard			~20%

Zoos & centres

#	Zoo / Centre	Country
1	Everland	🇰🇷 South Korea	3 of 3 in captivity
2	San Diego Zoo	🇺🇸 United States	3 of 3 in captivity
3	Pairi Daiza	🇧🇪 Belgium	3 of 3 in captivity
4	ZooParc de Beauval	🇫🇷 France	3 of 3 in captivity
5	Lisbon Oceanarium	🇵🇹 Portugal	3 of 3 in captivity
6	Ostrava Zoo	🇨🇿 Czechia	3 of 3 in captivity
7	Zoo Pilsen	🇨🇿 Czechia	3 of 3 in captivity
8	Zoo de Doué	🇫🇷 France	3 of 3 in captivity
9	Zoobotánico Jerez	🇪🇸 Spain	3 of 3 in captivity
10	Adventure Aquarium	🇺🇸 United States	3 of 3 in captivity
11	Al Ain Zoo	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	3 of 3 in captivity
12	Animal creche	🇿🇦 South Africa	3 of 3 in captivity
13	Aquarium Barcelona	🇪🇸 Spain	3 of 3 in captivity
14	Attica Zoological Park	🇬🇷 Greece	3 of 3 in captivity
15	Belgrade Zoo	🇷🇸 Serbia	3 of 3 in captivity
16	Biotropica	🇫🇷 France	3 of 3 in captivity
17	Burgers' Ocean	🇳🇱 Netherlands	3 of 3 in captivity
18	Cango Wildlife Ranch	🇿🇦 South Africa	3 of 3 in captivity
19	Cape May County Park & Zoo	🇺🇸 United States	3 of 3 in captivity
20	Centro de Recuperação de Animais Silvestres	🇵🇹 Portugal	3 of 3 in captivity

Show all 20 Show fewer

Before you go

Where is the best place to see Africa's Big Cats?

Serengeti National Park

In Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, the chance of seeing all 3 (lion, leopard and cheetah) on the same day is about 40%, the highest of the 18 parks where all of them live, and over a three-day visit it rises to about 90%. Next come Masai Mara National Reserve (about 20% a day), Moremi Game Reserve (about 10% a day) and Etosha National Park (about 10% a day). It multiplies each animal's daily chance, as if they were independent, so read it as a rough guide.

Which of Africa's Big Cats is hardest to see?

Leopard

In Serengeti National Park, the best park for Africa's Big Cats, about about 60% of wildlife watchers report the leopard on a given day, against about 80% for the lion. The hardest one decides how many days you need.

How do you complete Africa's Big Cats on Wallace's Line?

Mark them as seen

Tick ✓ Seen on each animal's card, add your trips, or link your iNaturalist account. Your passport counts Africa's Big Cats three ways: anywhere in the world, all in one park, and all in a single trip.

← All challenges

Africa's Big Cats

The checklist: 3 animals

Lion

Leopard

Cheetah

Where to go

Month by month at Serengeti National Park

Month by month at Serengeti National Park

Month by month at Serengeti National Park

Month by month at Serengeti National Park

Month by month at Serengeti National Park

Month by month at Serengeti National Park

Time of day

Parks

Zoos & centres

Before you go

Where is the best place to see Africa's Big Cats?

Which of Africa's Big Cats is hardest to see?

How do you complete Africa's Big Cats on Wallace's Line?