Zakouma. Is it really that good?

Extraordinary wildlife, astonishing abundance and one of the greatest bird spectacles on Earth. Why Chad's Zakouma National Park deserves its remarkable reputation.

Yes. It really is that good.

But perhaps not for the reasons you might expect.

Zakouma National Park, in southeastern Chad, has acquired an almost legendary reputation amongst wildlife enthusiasts. For some, it is the story of elephants surviving one of Africa's most devastating poaching crises. For others, it is the opportunity to explore one of the continent's least-visited wildlife destinations.

Both are compelling reasons to be interested in Zakouma. But neither fully explains what makes this extraordinary place so remarkable.

The real answer lies in its natural history.

Zakouma supports an astonishing variety and abundance of wildlife. Vast herds of antelope, thousands of buffalo, one of the world's most important populations of Kordofan giraffe, an intriguing collection of smaller mammals and a bird population that, at certain times of year, seems almost impossible to comprehend.

And much of this wildlife has always been here.

A meeting place of two Africas

To understand Zakouma, it helps to understand where it is.

The park lies within the great Sudanian savanna belt, close to the transition towards the drier Sahel to the north. This geographical position is fundamental to its remarkable wildlife diversity.

Here, species associated with the open grasslands of northeastern Africa coexist with animals more characteristic of the wooded savannas farther south.

The landscape is equally varied. Extensive grasslands, seasonal floodplains, wooded savannas and wetlands create a mosaic of habitats that change dramatically throughout the year.

During the rains, water spreads across large areas of the park, encouraging fresh vegetation growth and allowing wildlife to disperse.

As the dry season advances, the landscape gradually contracts around its remaining water sources.

And this is when Zakouma becomes particularly extraordinary.

Animals that have been scattered across the wider landscape begin to concentrate. Herds grow larger, waterbirds gather in astonishing numbers and predators take advantage of the increasing abundance of potential prey.

It is an annual ecological cycle that has shaped Zakouma's wildlife for thousands of years.

Antelope in extraordinary numbers

One of the first things that strikes visitors familiar with Southern Africa is the unusual composition of Zakouma's antelope herds.

The tiang is perhaps the most characteristic.

Closely related to the topi of East Africa, tiang are elegant, reddish-brown antelope with distinctive dark markings. They occur across parts of northeastern and Central Africa but are rarely encountered by visitors to the continent's more familiar safari regions.

In Zakouma, they can gather in herds numbering thousands.

Watching these animals spread across the open grasslands is an experience that challenges the assumption that Africa's great antelope concentrations are confined to the Serengeti and other well-known ecosystems.

Then there are the Lelwel hartebeest.

Another antelope unfamiliar to many safari travellers, these large, long-faced animals are particularly well adapted to open savanna habitats. Their numbers in Zakouma are impressive, and they frequently share the grasslands with tiang.

Defassa waterbuck are abundant, while roan antelope, greater kudu, Buffon's kob and red-fronted gazelle add to the variety.

Each species occupies a slightly different ecological niche, exploiting particular habitats and food resources.

It is this mixture of species, combined with their abundance, that makes Zakouma so fascinating.

Buffalo with a difference

Zakouma's buffalo deserve special attention.

Anyone familiar with the imposing, dark-coated African buffalo of Southern Africa may be surprised by the appearance of some of Zakouma's animals.

Many have a distinctive reddish or chestnut colouration, while others are considerably darker.

The variation is particularly interesting given Zakouma's geographical position between the ranges of different African buffalo forms. Their appearance invites comparisons with the smaller, reddish forest buffalo of Central Africa, although coat colour alone cannot establish their ancestry.

But whatever their colour, the numbers are extraordinary.

According to African Parks, Zakouma's buffalo population has increased from approximately 220 animals in 1986 to more than 13,000 by 2025.

That is a remarkable recovery.

The population has become sufficiently substantial that more than 900 buffalo were translocated to Siniaka Minia National Park in 2022, contributing to efforts to restore wildlife populations elsewhere in Chad.

For visitors, the sight of enormous buffalo herds moving across the grasslands, raising clouds of dust and accompanied by attendant birds, is one of Zakouma's defining wildlife experiences.

These are not animals that have recently been introduced to the park.

They are part of an established wildlife community that has survived through periods of considerable human pressure and, given effective protection, demonstrated an extraordinary capacity to recover.

A stronghold for one of Africa's rarest giraffes

The Kordofan giraffe is another reason Zakouma holds such international importance.

This distinctive subspecies is classified as Critically Endangered, with populations surviving in relatively few areas of Central Africa.

Zakouma supports one of its most important remaining populations.

African Parks currently reports more than 1,300 Kordofan giraffes within the park.

What is particularly striking is how frequently giraffes can be encountered.

In many African parks, giraffes are a familiar but relatively scattered presence. In Zakouma, they can be a prominent feature of the wildlife experience, sometimes appearing in surprisingly large groups.

Their continued survival here is especially important because Kordofan giraffes have disappeared from substantial parts of their former range.

Zakouma offers a rare opportunity to observe this threatened subspecies within a functioning ecosystem, alongside the antelope, buffalo, elephants and predators with which it has long coexisted.

Beyond the familiar mammals

For dedicated mammal enthusiasts, Zakouma has another attraction.

Its smaller and less conspicuous species offer opportunities to encounter animals that rarely feature in conventional safari itineraries.

Serval, caracal, African civet, genets, honey badger and several species of mongoose are among the mammals recorded in the park.

The wider region also supports an intriguing variety of small carnivores, including foxes associated with the Sahelian environments farther north.

Zakouma's geographical position makes its mammal community particularly interesting, bringing together species with quite different ecological requirements.

The primates are fascinating too.

Patas monkeys, among the fastest-running primates in the world, are particularly characteristic of the region's open savannas. Olive baboons and tantalus monkeys contribute further to the diversity.

Of course, the larger predators are present.

Lions remain an important component of the ecosystem, while leopard and cheetah occur in the park. Spotted hyenas are also part of Zakouma's predator community.

But Zakouma's appeal is not dependent on seeing a particular predator.

There is simply so much else happening.

And that brings us to what may be the park's greatest wildlife attraction.

The birds. Where do you begin?

Zakouma's birdlife is extraordinary.

Hundreds of species have been recorded, but even that impressive diversity fails to convey the experience of birdwatching here.

The real distinction is the combination of variety and abundance.

During the dry season, the remaining wetlands can become crowded with waterbirds.

Pelicans gather in large feeding groups. Storks, herons, egrets and ibises occupy the shallows, while ducks and geese congregate on open water.

Black crowned cranes are particularly important.

This increasingly threatened species can occur in remarkable concentrations, making Zakouma one of the most significant places in Africa to observe these elegant birds.

The grasslands support a very different bird community.

Grasshopper buzzards are characteristic of the region, while various harriers and other raptors exploit the open country.

The striking scissor-tailed kite, with its delicate grey plumage and deeply forked tail, is one of the region's most beautiful birds of prey.

Fox kestrels, Abyssinian ground hornbills and a fascinating assortment of rollers, bee-eaters, hornbills, weavers and other species contribute to an almost continuous succession of sightings.

The seasonal movement of migratory birds adds another dimension.

Zakouma's wetlands form part of the enormous Bahr Aouk and Salamat floodplain system, internationally recognised for its importance to waterbirds.

Annual surveys of the wider wetland landscape have recorded more than 140 species of waterbird alone.

For birdwatchers accustomed to working hard for individual species, Zakouma can be almost overwhelming.

There are times when it is difficult to know where to look next.

Yet even this extraordinary variety is overshadowed by one particular event.

A million birds? Try many millions.

There are some wildlife spectacles that photographs and films simply cannot capture.

Being amongst a vast red-billed quelea roost in Zakouma is one of them.

The red-billed quelea is a small seed-eating bird, widespread across much of sub-Saharan Africa.

Individually, it is hardly remarkable.

Collectively, it may be responsible for one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on Earth.

As the afternoon draws to a close, enormous flocks begin converging on their communal roosting sites.

Initially, the birds appear as distant, shifting clouds against the sky.

Then more arrive.

And more.

The flocks grow larger, constantly changing shape as they sweep across the landscape.

Thousands become hundreds of thousands, and then millions.

The movement is almost continuous.

Great clouds of birds twist and turn, sometimes appearing to darken entire sections of the sky.

As they approach the roost, the noise builds.

The combined sound of countless wings and calls becomes a remarkable feature of the experience.

And then comes the moment when you find yourself amongst them.

Birds stream overhead and around you, pouring into the surrounding vegetation in numbers that are almost impossible to estimate.

The scale is difficult to describe because there are so few comparable experiences.

Predatory birds add another dimension to the spectacle, taking advantage of the extraordinary concentration of potential prey.

For anyone interested in natural history, this is an unforgettable demonstration of abundance.

The experience is not unique to us. Wildlife specialist Jon Hall, whose Mammal Watching podcast has featured Zakouma, described witnessing a roost estimated at 15–20 million birds during a visit to the park.

We tend to associate the world's greatest wildlife events with large mammals: migrating wildebeest, breeding elephant seals or enormous congregations of caribou.

Yet here, in a relatively little-known corner of Chad, a bird weighing little more than a few grams creates a spectacle to rival any of them.

For me, being amongst a vast quelea roost at dusk is one of the most extraordinary wildlife experiences on the planet.

And that is quite a statement.

The elephants and the conservation story

No account of Zakouma would be complete without acknowledging its difficult past.

During the first decade of this century, organised poaching devastated the park's elephant population.

In 2002, Zakouma supported more than 4,000 elephants. By 2010, only around 450 remained.

The impact was particularly severe because so few young calves were surviving.

The arrival of African Parks in 2010, working in partnership with the Government of Chad, marked a turning point.

Improved protection, more effective anti-poaching operations and greater engagement with surrounding communities helped stabilise the situation.

Elephants began breeding successfully again, and their numbers have gradually increased.

African Parks now reports a population of approximately 800 elephants, including a healthy proportion of young animals.

It is an important conservation achievement and a testament to sustained protection and management.

But there is a broader point worth making.

Zakouma's extraordinary wildlife did not suddenly appear following the arrival of better protection.

The tiang, hartebeest, buffalo, giraffes and remarkable bird populations were already part of this ecosystem.

What improved conservation achieved was to give these populations a greater opportunity to survive and flourish.

And perhaps that is the most encouraging aspect of Zakouma's story.

When effective protection is established, ecosystems that retain their natural diversity can respond remarkably well.

The challenges have not disappeared, and the protection of wildlife across the wider landscape remains essential.

Nevertheless, Zakouma demonstrates what can be achieved when conservation receives sustained attention and resources.

The rhinos. A more complicated conservation story

There is another chapter in Zakouma's conservation history, although it has proved considerably more challenging.

Black rhinoceroses once occurred in Chad, but hunting and poaching eventually eliminated them. The last recorded wild black rhino in the country was seen in 1972.

In 2018, six black rhinos were translocated from South Africa to Zakouma in an ambitious attempt to restore the species.

It was a significant undertaking, involving years of preparation, specialist veterinary teams and dedicated protection.

Sadly, four of the six animals died within months of their introduction.

Subsequent investigations identified nutritional difficulties associated with adapting to the park's seasonal vegetation, which had left the animals vulnerable to secondary infections.

The experience demonstrated just how complicated wildlife reintroductions can be, even when considerable resources have been invested in planning and protection.

Five additional black rhinos were introduced in December 2023, with the lessons of the earlier programme helping inform a revised approach.

African Parks' latest published information reports that two individuals are currently free-ranging in Zakouma, while management continues to adapt its strategy for establishing a sustainable population.

It is a reminder that conservation recovery is rarely straightforward.

Restoring a species requires far more than moving animals into a protected area. Their nutritional requirements, behaviour, adaptation to local conditions and long-term protection must all be carefully considered.

Zakouma's rhino programme illustrates both the ambition and the challenges involved in restoring species that have disappeared from their former ranges.

Conservation in a changing environment

Zakouma's recovery is impressive, but the pressures on its wildlife have not disappeared.

In recent years, the wider ecosystem has experienced severe droughts followed by extreme flooding, creating new challenges for wildlife and habitat management.

During particularly difficult dry seasons, park management has intervened to maintain water availability at important wildlife concentrations.

These changing conditions are especially significant in an ecosystem whose wildlife depends so heavily on the seasonal movement and availability of water.

The continued protection of the wider landscape, rather than the national park alone, is therefore increasingly important.

The renewed partnership between the Government of Chad and African Parks, announced in July 2026, reflects a continuing commitment to the long-term management of Zakouma and several other important protected areas.

Zakouma is a remarkable example of what sustained conservation can achieve. Its future will depend on maintaining that commitment while responding to the changing pressures affecting wildlife across the region.

When is the best time to experience Zakouma?

Timing makes an enormous difference.

Although Zakouma is a functioning ecosystem throughout the year, January through April is the period we find particularly rewarding for wildlife-focused visits, with conditions changing considerably as the dry season progresses.

In January and February, the landscape can retain more vegetation and water, while migratory birds contribute to the already impressive resident birdlife.

As March approaches, the dry season becomes more pronounced.

Water sources contract, wildlife concentrations increase and the open grasslands become particularly rewarding for observing large herds.

By March and April, the remaining wetlands can support extraordinary gatherings of birds and mammals.

For those particularly interested in the great wildlife concentrations, this is an exceptional period.

We return to Zakouma each March, a time of year that has consistently provided some of our most memorable wildlife encounters.

The precise timing of wildlife movements and concentrations naturally varies with seasonal conditions, but the annual progression from widespread wet-season dispersal to dry-season abundance is one of the defining features of the park.

Understanding that seasonal cycle is central to appreciating Zakouma.

Chad. What about security?

It would be unrealistic to discuss travel to Zakouma without acknowledging the concerns that many people understandably have about visiting Chad.

The country has experienced considerable political instability and regional insecurity, and some areas remain affected by serious security challenges.

These concerns should not be dismissed.

However, Chad is a vast country, and the circumstances affecting one region do not necessarily reflect those experienced in another.

Zakouma lies in southeastern Chad, away from several of the country's principal areas of conflict.

The park operates under a structured management system, with established conservation infrastructure and security arrangements.

Travel to the park is normally carefully organised, with visitors using experienced local operators and established routes.

Nevertheless, there are genuine risks to consider. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office currently advises against all but essential travel to the region containing Zakouma. Such advice may also affect travel insurance.

Conditions can change, and official travel advice, current local assessments and appropriate travel arrangements should always form part of any decision to visit.

But there is another side to Chad that deserves far more attention.

The people of Chad

For many visitors, one of the greatest surprises is not simply the wildlife.

It is the people.

Chad is home to a remarkable diversity of ethnic groups, languages and cultural traditions, reflecting its position between North Africa, the Sahara, the Sahel and the savannas farther south.

This diversity is evident in clothing, architecture, traditional livelihoods and the everyday life of communities across the country.

There is a striking elegance about many of the people we encounter, particularly in their traditional dress, and an equally striking sense of cultural identity.

For travellers whose previous experience of Africa has largely been confined to the more familiar safari destinations, Chad offers a fascinatingly different perspective on the continent.

It is a country whose people and cultures deserve to be better understood, rather than viewed solely through the lens of political instability and security concerns.

And although wildlife is the principal reason for visiting Zakouma, the human encounters can add another memorable dimension to the experience.

So, is Zakouma really that good?

Yes. Absolutely.

But its appeal is not easily measured against the familiar safari destinations of East and Southern Africa.

Zakouma offers something different.

It is the unusual combination of Sahelian and Sudanian wildlife, the remarkable concentrations of tiang, hartebeest and buffalo, the importance of its Kordofan giraffes and the fascinating diversity of smaller mammals.

It is the extraordinary abundance of birds, from threatened black crowned cranes to the almost unimaginable spectacle of millions of quelea gathering at dusk.

It is also the opportunity to experience a part of Africa that remains unfamiliar to most travellers, where the wildlife, landscapes and cultures are distinctly different from those encountered farther south.

And perhaps most importantly, Zakouma demonstrates something fundamental about the natural world.

Extraordinary wildlife spectacles do not always depend on rare animals. Sometimes they depend on something even more remarkable: the survival of wildlife in extraordinary abundance.

That is Zakouma.

And yes, it really is that good.