All 3 in 3 days here: ~40%
Tsavo East National Park
🇰🇪 Kenya
East Africa, Kenya 1695 spp. recorded
Tsavo East National Park is a protected tropical savanna situated in southeastern Kenya. This vast expanse differs from neighboring reserves through its striking red earth, semi-arid plains, and the winding Galana River, which cuts entirely through the dry bushland.
-2.428° S 39.165° E
🦜 Nature
551 Species sighted
40,147 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Mar Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
🌙 Most active after dark
+ 620 more species with insufficient data
Challenges you can complete here
All 5 in 3 days here: ~40%
All 4 in 3 days here: ~20%
All 5 in 3 days here: ~10%
Recent sightings in Tsavo East National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSounds of Tsavo East National Park
Morning soundscape1:22
Kenya · 2025
© Louis A. Hansen · XC1050110 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Sighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
71Jan
68Feb
71Mar
68Apr
54May
57Jun
66Jul
56Aug
66Sep
63Oct
66Nov
70Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
Southern Section
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Aruba Lodge and Dam
-
Voi Wildlife Lodge
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Entrance
Paid
Tourism
Medium
Typical stay
2–3
daysTrails
Easy
World Heritage
No
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 World-class
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
ExcellentHow rich is the wildlife?
5.0
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 1023
🐒 Mammals 346
🦎 Reptiles 245
🐸 Amphibians 81
1695 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
84 Threatened 9 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
ExcellentHow likely to see animals?
5.0
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
75% 📊
Coverage (314 species at ≥5% of 1695 in the inventory)
19% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (9 mammal, 2 bird, 1 reptile)
54% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
205 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
44 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
56 🏕️
Experience
ExcellentHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
4.4
Climate Pleasant High
Entrance Paid Low
Tourism Medium Medium
Trails Easy High
World Heritage No —
What visitors say
We saw lots of animals and a few cool birds, which I will share here: African elephant Maasai giraffe Gerenuk Martial eagle (I think) Lesser kudu Leaving the Park we drove through an “Elephant Grid” fence, one of several we have gone through on this trip, but I failed to talk about.
The drivers would be on their radios reporting sightings of paw prints or lions themselves, but once out in the park, Raphael would just drive me all over the place through a wide range of landscapes, stopping whenever we came across elephants, giraffes, hyenas and so much more.
We saw zebras standing elegantly against the golden grasslands and towering giraffes browsing quietly in the distance.
Lots of European rollers about and we also get to see our first Fringe Eared Oryx (also called a Besia Oryx – of which there are two sub-species – Fringe Eared and common – but I like the name Fringe Eared).
Before you go
What animals can you see in Tsavo East National Park?
1,695 species
Tsavo East National Park has 1,695 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are African Bush Elephant (about 90%), Lion (about 80%), Grant's Gazelle (about 80%), East African Giraffe (about 80%) and Plains Zebra (about 80%). Among birds, the most-seen is Superb Starling (about 70%); among reptiles, Kenyan Rock Agama (about 70%).
When is the best time to visit Tsavo East National Park for wildlife?
September
In that month the park's 12 most-seen species average about 90% on a given day, against about 60% in May and December. That is one of Tsavo East National Park's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain against 130 mm in November.
Can you see an African Bush Elephant in Tsavo East National Park?
Yes
About 90% of wildlife watchers report an African Bush Elephant sighting in Tsavo East National Park on a given day, based on 333 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is February–March and June–November (about 90%).
Can you see a Lion in Tsavo East National Park?
Yes
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Lion sighting in Tsavo East National Park on a given day, based on 159 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is April and August–September (about 90%).
Can you see a Bateleur in Tsavo East National Park?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Bateleur sighting in Tsavo East National Park on a given day, based on 470 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is March and April (about 70%).
Can you see an East African Giraffe in Tsavo East National Park?
Yes
About 80% of wildlife watchers report an East African Giraffe sighting in Tsavo East National Park on a given day, based on 124 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is September (about 90%).
Where in Tsavo East National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Southern Section
The richest sighting zone is around Southern Section, followed by Aruba Lodge and Dam and Voi Wildlife Lodge, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Tsavo East National Park good for wildlife watching?
5.0 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Tsavo East National Park rates 5.0/5: 1st of 316 parks worldwide and 1st in Africa. 67 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
