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A male springbok in Etosha National Park, Namibia
Photo: Giles Laurent, CC BY-SA 4.0

Safari · Namibia

Etosha National Park Animal Checklist

Etosha National Park in northern Namibia surrounds a vast white salt pan, and its waterholes are some of the easiest places in Africa to watch big game drink. It is famous for black rhino, elephants and lions, and holds four of the Big Five (there are no buffalo). This checklist covers 69 animals. The dry season, May to October, is best.

Etosha is ideal for self-drive: good gravel roads link three main rest camps, Okaukuejo, Halali and Namutoni, each with a waterhole you can watch after dark. The pan alone covers about 4,800 square kilometres.

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The Etosha checklist in the Wilder app, started as a trip with the first animals ticked
Animals to find
69
Where
Namibia
Best time
May to Oct
Big Five
Four (no buffalo)

Etosha's big game and waterhole stars

  • African Savanna Elephant, one of the animals to look for in Etosha

    African Savanna Elephant

    Etosha's elephants are often coated white with dust from the pan. Herds come to drink at the waterholes in the heat of the day.

    Photo: 25-south.com, CC BY-SA 4.0

  • Lion, one of the animals to look for in Etosha

    Lion

    Prides often wait near the waterholes for prey. Okondeka on the western pan edge and Salvadora near Halali are good places to check.

    Photo: Leyo, CC BY-SA 2.5 ch

  • Leopard, one of the animals to look for in Etosha

    Leopard

    Shy and mostly seen at dusk. The rocky, wooded hills around Halali, and the Moringa waterhole at night, give the best chance.

    Photo: Axel Tschentscher, CC BY-SA 4.0

  • Black Rhinoceros

    Etosha is one of the best places in the world to see black rhino. They most often come to drink after dark in the dry season. Please don't share rhino locations or post geotagged photos.

  • Springbok

    Etosha's signature antelope, in herds of hundreds on the open plains. Watch for pronking, the stiff-legged leaps they make when alarmed or playing.

  • Gemsbok (Oryx)

    A desert antelope with long straight horns, common on the open grassland around Okaukuejo. They can go days without drinking.

  • Mountain Zebra

    Hartmann's mountain zebra lives in the hilly west around Dolomite. Look for the dewlap on the throat and a white belly with no stripes.

  • Impala

    Etosha's impala are the black-faced kind, found only in north-west Namibia and south-west Angola. Look around Namutoni and Halali.

  • Brown Hyena

    Rare and nocturnal. Your best chance is a late night at the Okaukuejo waterhole.

All 69 animals to spot in Etosha

Grouped the way you'll meet them. Tips show where to look.

Big game 7

Grazers and browsers 10

Hunters 8

Smaller mammals 7

Birds of prey 10

Big birds 8

Colourful birds 18

Reptiles and amphibians 1

  • Last reviewed September 2026.
  • Sources are listed below the questions.
  • Wild animals only. Please give them space.

Best time to see wildlife in Etosha

The dry season, May to October, is the best time to see wildlife in Etosha. With no rain, animals depend on the waterholes, so a single spot can bring elephants, rhino, lions and huge herds of springbok in an afternoon. June to August have warm days and cold nights, sometimes near freezing at dawn. September and October are very hot, with the most animals at the water. The rains usually fall from about November or December to April. Game then spreads out across the park and is harder to find, but it is green, springbok drop their lambs, and migrant birds arrive. After good rains, water can pool on the pan and draw flamingos. Some roads may flood in the wettest months.

  • Jan-AprRainy season; green, springbok lambs, flamingos after good rain
  • May-JunDry season begins; animals start returning to the waterholes
  • Jul-AugCool mornings, peak waterhole action, busy in school holidays
  • Sep-OctHottest and driest; the most game at the water
  • Nov-DecFirst storms; game begins to disperse

Tips for spotting wildlife in Etosha

  1. Park up at a waterhole and wait

    Choose one busy waterhole, such as Okaukuejo, Rietfontein, Chudob or Klein Namutoni, and give it an hour. Animals come and go in turns, often with the biggest animals arriving last.

  2. Stay up for the floodlit waterholes

    The main rest camps each have a waterhole floodlit at night. Late evening is prime time for black rhino, and brown hyena and leopard are possible. Keep voices low.

  3. Time your drive to the gates

    Camp and park gates open at sunrise and close at sunset, and you must be inside a camp before dark. The speed limit is 60 km/h, and you may only leave your car inside the camps and at marked toilet stops.

  4. Watch the sandgrouse at dawn

    Namaqua sandgrouse fly in to drink in noisy flocks in the first hours of daylight. The males soak their belly feathers to carry water back to their chicks.

  5. Visit the west for mountain zebra

    The Galton Gate and Dolomite area in the west is quieter, with rocky hills where Hartmann's mountain zebra live.

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The Etosha checklist in the Wilder app, started as a trip with the first animals ticked

Etosha wildlife FAQ

What animals can you see in Etosha National Park?

You can see elephants, black rhinos, lions, leopards, cheetahs, giraffes, zebras and huge herds of springbok and gemsbok in Etosha, plus rarer species such as brown hyena and black-faced impala. This checklist covers 69 animals and birds. The dry season, May to October, is best, when most animals visit the waterholes to drink.

What are the best waterholes in Etosha?

The best waterholes in Etosha include the floodlit camp waterholes at Okaukuejo and Halali (Moringa), best after dark. Rietfontein and Olifantsbad are busy by day, Chudob and Klein Namutoni are busy near Namutoni, and Okondeka is good for lions. What is best changes year to year, so pick one and give it time rather than racing between them.

Can you see the Big Five in Etosha?

No, you can only see four of the Big Five in Etosha: elephant, black rhino, lion and leopard. There are no buffalo in the park. In return, Etosha is one of the best places anywhere for black rhino, and the waterholes make elephant and lion sightings very reliable. For all five in one trip, add a park such as Kruger.

When is the best time to visit Etosha for wildlife?

The best time to visit Etosha for wildlife is the dry season, from May to October, when animals gather at the waterholes. September and October bring the most game but temperatures can pass 35°C. The wet months, roughly November to April, are greener and good for birds and newborn springbok, but animals are more spread out.

Sources

Last reviewed September 2026

Photo credits

All photo credits. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, resized.

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