Niokolo-Koba National Park
🇸🇳 Senegal
Africa, Senegal 899 spp. recorded
Niokolo-Koba National Park is a vast protected area in southeastern Senegal, featuring open tropical savanna, wooded grasslands, and broad river floodplains along the Gambia River. Visitors walk through tall grasses, gallery forests, and seasonal wetlands under the African sun.
13.075° N 12.770° W
🦜 Nature
345 Species sighted
24,134 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Feb Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
🌙 Most active after dark
+ 667 more species with insufficient data
Recent sightings in Niokolo-Koba National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
67Jan
69Feb
55Mar
62Apr
6.9May
8.8Jun
—
No data
Jul42Aug
43Sep
—
No data
Oct49Nov
59Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
Campement du Lion
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Campement de Wassadou
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Green Monkey~90%+10%
Nile Monitor~80%+20%
Long-tailed Glossy Starling~60%-30%
Red-throated Bee-eater~60%-30%
Hadada~60%-10%
Hamerkop~60%-20%
Western Grey Plantain-eater~50%-20%
African Palm-Swift~50%-20%
Pied Kingfisher~50%-20%
Black-billed Wood-Dove~50%-20%
Vinaceous Dove~50%-20%
West African Banded Cobra~50%+10%
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 World-class
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
GoodHow rich is the wildlife?
3.9
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 591
🐒 Mammals 164
🦎 Reptiles 106
🐸 Amphibians 38
899 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
38 Threatened 20 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
ExcellentHow likely to see animals?
5.0
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
77% 📊
Coverage (223 species at ≥5% of 899 in the inventory)
25% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (10 bird, 2 mammal)
37% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
167 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
29 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
65 🏕️
Experience
ExcellentHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
4.7
Climate Mixed Medium
Entrance Paid Low
Tourism Low High
Trails Easy High
World Heritage Yes Bonus
What visitors say
Lions and leopards still exist in Niokolo-Koba National Park, but sightings are extremely uncommon, so I certainly wouldn’t visit expecting to see either.
My destination is 700 km away: Niokolo-Koba National Park–a UNESCO World Heritage site in the southeast of the country, on the border with Guinea.
Panthera’s work in Niokolo-Koba was one of the first projects that the LRF supported back in 2017, and since then, we have provided funding continuously.
It is also expected to leverage US$4 million in co-financing to support conservation and sustainable management efforts across the Niokolo-Koba landscape.
Before you go
What animals can you see in Niokolo-Koba National Park?
899 species
Niokolo-Koba National Park has 899 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Red-throated Bee-eater (about 90%), Long-tailed Glossy Starling (about 90%), Green Monkey (about 80%), Hamerkop (about 80%) and Guinea Baboon (about 80%). Among reptiles, the most-seen is West African Crocodile (about 70%).
When is the best time to visit Niokolo-Koba National Park for wildlife?
April and December–February
In those months the park's 12 most-seen species average about 80% on a given day, against about 60% in August and November. Those are among Niokolo-Koba National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 300 mm in August.
Can you see a Common Hippopotamus in Niokolo-Koba National Park?
Yes
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Common Hippopotamus sighting in Niokolo-Koba National Park on a given day, based on 35 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is January and February (about 70%).
Can you see a Roan Antelope in Niokolo-Koba National Park?
Yes
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Roan Antelope sighting in Niokolo-Koba National Park on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is February and March (about 70%).
Can you see a Lion in Niokolo-Koba National Park?
Yes
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Lion sighting in Niokolo-Koba National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is November (about 50%).
Can you see a West African Crocodile in Niokolo-Koba National Park?
Yes
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a West African Crocodile sighting in Niokolo-Koba National Park on a given day, based on 271 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is January and November (about 80%).
Where in Niokolo-Koba National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Mare de Simenti
The richest sighting zone is around Mare de Simenti, followed by Campement du Lion and Campement de Wassadou, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Niokolo-Koba National Park good for wildlife watching?
4.7 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Niokolo-Koba National Park rates 4.7/5: 44th of 316 parks worldwide and 32nd in Africa. 74 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
