Best Places To See Rhinos, Leopards, Cheetahs or Wild Dogs

Most people love to see Africa's super predators, the big cats (lions, leopards and cheetahs), followed closely by the endangered African wild dog or painted wolf. For many return visitors, their priority might be to see a specific animal they have not seen yet. Perhaps the beautiful cheetah eluded you on your African safari, and you return with the specific hope to see a cheetah in the wild. Or African wild dogs? The question is, where are you most likely to see them?

For this list, I've decided to focus on four specific animals that are usually hard to find in many popular safari areas. Animals like elephants and lions are often on people's wish lists, but they are reasonably common in most of Southern Africa's top safari areas, so I've left them out.

Rhinos

Poaching has taken its toll on rhino populations, and in many popular safari destinations across Africa, both white rhinos and black rhinos are either absent or extremely rare. With a few exceptions, you are unlikely to see rhinos while on safari in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and most of Tanzania. They do occur sporadically in all these countries and have recently been reintroduced in certain areas where they had become extinct, but the chances of spotting them are slim. For the best chance to see rhinos, you need to head to South Africa.

For many years, rhinos were a rare sight, even in South Africa. However, the rhino population began to increase significantly during the 80s and 90s due to successful rhino conservation projects pioneered in northern Kwazulu-Natal Province. Today, due to the ongoing poaching crisis, rhino populations are no longer growing, and rhino sightings are becoming more and more special.

Still, the areas where you are most likely to see rhinos are South Africa's Kruger National Park and surrounding private game reserves, and various game reserves in northern Kwazulu-Natal, such as Hluhluwe-Umfolozi, Mkuze and Phinda Game Reserve, as well as the greater Isimangaliso Wetland area. Various other reserves around South Africa also have rhinos and you can see them at Madikwe, Pilanesberg, the Waterberg, Greater Addo and surrounding private reserves in the Eastern Cape, amongst others.

In terms of sheer numbers, the southern Kruger National Park remains the top destination to spot rhinos, and you will likely encounter at least one, and probably more than one of these magnificent beasts during an average three-day Kruger National Park safari.

Leopards

Leopards are known to be shy and elusive cats and are notoriously hard to see in the wild, at most game reserves. When visiting new reserves or lodges, one cannot always get an accurate idea of what the game viewing is like from just one or two drives, so if my stay is limited to one night, I usually ask the rangers how often they tend to see certain kinds of animals on their game drives. For leopards, the answer usually ranges from "never" to "once a month" in some reserves, to "once or twice a week" at some of the better wild leopard destinations.

However, there are some game reserves in Africa where leopard sightings are so common that one can honestly say, with few exceptions, that leopards are seen there every day or at least six days out of seven. My personal record is eight different individual leopards during one three-hour game drive! The destination? The Sabi Sand Game Reserve in South Africa, adjacent to the Kruger National Park.

The secret here is a combination of things. Firstly, the Sabi Sand is ideal leopard territory with a naturally high population of leopards. Combine this with having lots of expert guides and trackers out on game drive each day, who stay in radio contact and call in whenever they've spotted a leopard (see what I did there?). They even call in fresh leopard tracks and being able to drive off-road means that the trackers can effectively track and follow these beautiful cats through the bush, offering guests unequalled opportunities to observe and photograph these magnificent animals from up close.

A close second after the Sabi Sand must be Zambia's South Luangwa National Park, where leopard sightings are also often a daily occurrence. Again, it is not uncommon to have several different leopard sightings on the same day, especially in the central region close to the main gate and Mfuwe Lodge.

Lastly, a special mention goes to the greater Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, especially the Mara region in Kenya and the central Seronera area in Tanzania. The chances of spotting leopards here are quite good due to the open landscape, large numbers of vehicles and high concentration of leopards. Like most cats, they enjoy climbing things and can often be found in trees. In open country like the Serengeti, the trained eye can easily spot leopards from a distance when they're lying in a tree.

Cheetahs

For many people, the cheetah is the most beautiful and graceful of Africa's big cats. They are also the most endangered and hardest to find unless you know where to go.

Cheetahs are at home in many of Africa's game reserves, but they are not always easy to find. Since they prefer open areas, a good place to start is open landscapes such as the Serengeti in Tanzania, the Masai Mara in Kenya or Botswana's Central Kalahari region. But some smaller game reserves also provide consistently good cheetah sightings, such as Phinda Game Reserve in northern Kwazulu-Natal Province in South Africa. The Kruger National Park has plenty of cheetahs but due to the huge size of the reserve, it is by no means guaranteed that you will see them - in fact, you can consider yourself lucky if you find cheetahs. Our recommendation is to visit Phinda Game Reserve or the Serengeti if you want a high chance of seeing cheetahs in the wild.

Wild Dogs

The African wild dog (also known as the hunting dog or painted wolf) is one of the most successful predators in Africa. They hunt in packs with incredible speed and stamina and are known to cover large distances while pursuing their prey. They require large tracts of bush to hunt and thrive, and much of their natural habitat has been destroyed by human settlement and agriculture. Today, wild dogs are an endangered species and a very special sighting on safari. So where can you go if you want to see African wild dogs?

Wild dogs occur in many of Africa's big game reserves, but there are certain areas that are known to offer good chances of finding them, especially during the denning season (winter months). Among the best is the Kwando region in Botswana, where local packs of wild dogs regularly den close to camps like Kwando Lebala or Kwando Lagoon. Another excellent option is Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa's Northwest Province, which is a malaria-free game reserve with a variety of quality lodges to choose from.