Safari in Zakouma

a huge and very impressive wildlife area

Located in the southeast of Chad, Zakouma National Park is a remarkably little-known and little-visited reserve, which contains some wonderful landscapes and a full range of safari wildlife.

This 3000 square kilometre reserve lies in the transition zone between the Sahara Desert and the fertile rainforest regions to the south, making it a critical conservation area for key species in Central Africa.

The landscapes are largely comprised of undulating grasslands, acacia woodlands and riverine forests, with large pans that attract wildlife throughout the dry season and dotted with freestanding granite inselbergs.

Zakouma is home to really rich and varied populations of animals including lions (140) and elephants (750) and West African savanna buffalos (1200).

Less common species include roan antelopes, Lelwel’s hartebeest, red-fronted gazelles, oribis, bushbucks, Buffon’s kobs and Kordofan giraffes (50% of the global population). There’s also a good number of leopards, but they tend to be quite unhabituated to vehicles and difficult to find.

At night it is possible to spot servals, genets, white-tailed mongooses, African wild-cats, pale foxes and side-striped jackals.

Zakouma is a really rich and interesting area for birding, with the open pans attracting large numbers of water birds, notably including pelicans and crowned cranes. During Mar-Apr large plumes of locusts can blow in from the Sahara, which causes a feeding frenzy amongst birds like kites to marabou storks. Other highlights include Abyssinian ground hornbills, Abyssinian rollers, Senegal coucals, black-breasted barbets and northern carmine bee-eaters.

In recent decades. Zakouma was in serious decline, but since the management was taken over by the international conservation group, African Parks, things have really turned around. The animal populations have increased massively and appear to be stable or continuing to increase.

The organisation now manages an enormous area of 54,000 square kilometres, almost four times the size of the Serengeti.

The Zakouma area is extremely seasonal, so careful planning is essential.

The Nov-May warm dry winter is the time to visit, when there should be little or no rainfall. The floods recede to leave high water marks on the trees, eventually reducing down to a number of large evaporation pans, around which the wildlife congregates.

During the Jun-Oct hot wet summer large parts of the reserve flood to create extensive wetlands and the reserve becomes largely inaccessible.

Zakouma can only be visited in the company of an experienced international safari guide, as part of a private expedition. Fortunately we work with a handful of really good guides, with good levels of experience in Chad.

The area is usually accessed by light aircraft charter from the capital N’djamena and is sometimes combined with the Ennedi area in the north of Chad.

There are presently only a handful of very simple accommodation facilities in Zakouma, all of which are operated by African Parks.

In other words, a visit to Zakouma is both very expensive and inherently simple and adventurous.

expensive and adventurous private expeditions