Big 5 Animals in Rwanda and Best Big Five Safari in Akagera

Rwanda is home to the African Big Five animals: lion, leopard, elephant, Cape buffalo, and rhino, all located in Akagera National Park. These iconic species are a highlight of any Rwandan safari adventure. Akagera offers a unique opportunity for wildlife enthusiasts to experience the thrill of spotting these majestic animals in their natural habitat.

Safaris to Akagera typically include game drives and boat tours, offering close encounters with the Big Five, making it a top destination for wildlife tourism in Rwanda.

Akagera National Park is serving as a living testimony to Rwanda’s commitment to restoring its natural heritages. The park on the brink had collapsed due to human encroachments as a result of poaching, settlement, and logging, among others.

Through the efforts of the government with other conservation organizations like the African Parks Network, the park underwent a remarkable transformation witnessed by the abundance of wildlife it now holds inclusive of the Big 5 animals in Rwanda.

The thriving wildlife species of Akagera National Park have firmly placed Rwanda on the map for wildlife enthusiasts in Africa.

Akagera National Park offers visitors unparalleled opportunities to sight a variety of animal species inclusive of the iconic Big 5 animals in Rwanda, namely the lions, leopards, elephants, cape Buffaloes, and rhinoceroses going about daily activities in their natural habitats.

The Big 5 Animals in Rwanda:

Lions in Rwanda

During the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the country was faced with enormous challenges inclusive of the total loss of its lion population. The return of the nationals from their hideouts, encroaching on Akagera National Park for settlement, farming, logging, and poaching among others saw the last lions of the park disappearing by the early 2000s.

This marked the beginnings of ecological imbalances in the park, which had been a thriving natural habitat of these apex majestic predators. However, in 2015, the Rwanda Development Board together with the African Parks Network embarked on the bold journey of reintroducing lions to the park.

Seven lions inclusive of five females and two males were trans-located from South Africa to the park after 15 years with no lions being sighted anywhere on Rwanda’s land. The reintroduced lions were first kept at the Boma enclosure to help them get used to their new habitat by ensuring they were within the park boundaries.

A few weeks later, they were released into the wild of the park to explore, establish, and mark their territories. The lions, as part of the Big 5 animals in Rwanda have undergone successful breeding leading to continuous growth of the lion population in the park witnessed by easy and frequent sightings while on game drives throughout the park.

As of recent counts, there is approximately 30 healthy lions present in Akagera National Park of Rwanda, Visitors to Akagera National Park now have the greatest chances of sighting these giant predators in their natural habitats with ease offering them unforgettable glimpses into the heart of Rwanda’s wilderness.

How to see lions in Akagera National Park;

Lions of Akagera are best sighted while on game drives either in the morning hours when they are out from their hideouts to hunt or in the evening hours when they are on their way to their habitats to rest.

Leopards in Rwanda

In Rwanda, these elusive big cats and Big 5 animals in Rwanda are found in Akagera National Park, which features savanna landscapes, woodlands, and wetlands making it a very suitable habitat for these animal species. They are also believed to be present in the forested regions of Nyungwe National Park though it has not yet been clearly outlined.

However, though they are present in the park, their sightings are very rare mainly because of their elusive nature and dense vegetation. Their exact number is unknown but estimated to be between 10-20 individuals present in Akagera Park and unknown numbers in other regions of Rwanda.

Akagera National Park’s diverse ecosystem ensures a rich, stable food supply including bush kobs, antelopes, warthogs, giraffes, and impalas, among others for these elusive wildlife hunters. The park’s mixture of vegetation from the savanna open grasslands, and woodlands to dense thick forests offers the perfect hunting ground for leopards.

Best time to view Leopards in Akagera National  Park.

They are best sighted during the early morning or late afternoon game drives though only seen by lucky safari goers while resting in trees to watch out their kill from scavengers or during very hot days.

Elephants in Rwanda

Rwanda is home to one of Africa’s majestic, iconic gentle giants, seen roaming on the savanna plains of Akagera National park captivating the hearts of many tourists to this destination.

Rwanda had a good population of elephants which was spread across its different game reserves but the tragic event of the 1994 genocide claimed many of their lives as a result of habitat destruction by people and uncontrolled poaching causing a drastic decline in their numbers.

By the year 2000, only a small population of them had remained and were restricted to Akagera National Park. The good conservation practices practiced by the Republic of Rwanda have seen the population of elephants increase and now the country holds approximately 100 elephants.

These Big 5 animals in Rwanda are often seen in herds or called a family group, moving gracefully around the Akagera park in search of food and water.

How to see Elephants in Akagera National Park.

Elephants are best seen during guided game drives around the park and via boat cruise on Lake Ihema. This offers visitors to the park uninterrupted up close to these giant creatures with no disturbance to their natural habitats.

Cape Buffaloes in Rwanda

Cape buffaloes also known as African buffaloes are sturdy animals found in large herds and Rwanda, the herds are sighted at the country’s largest game reserve, Akagera National Park. The park holds approximately 2,000 buffaloes making them the largest in numbers of all the Big 5 Animals of Rwanda.

Buffaloes are sighted during game drives grazing in open grasslands, at the water bodies cooling off during boat safaris, and in shades resting during hot days. Watching big herds of buffaloes moving across the savanna grasslands leaves visitors in awe, the best feeling of a lifetime.

Rhinos in Rwanda

The giant magnificent creatures were once declared extinct in the wild of the country during the early 2,000s because of their habitat loss to humans and severe poaching, particularly from the start of the tragic event in 1994.

But with the collaborative efforts between the Rwanda Development Board, the non-profit organizations namely the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the African Parks, rhinos were reintroduced to Akagera National Park and this completed the African Big 5 animals in Rwanda.

In 2017, a herd of 18 black eastern rhinoceros was trans-located from South Africa to Akagera National Park after a decade of their absence with the last rhino sighted around 2006. In June 2019, Five black rhinos were relocated from Czech republic to Akagera National Park of Rwanda.

This trans-location marked the largest movements of wildlife across continents from Europe to Africa, covering a distance of 3,700 miles. In 2021, this marks the largest trans-location in history. With 30 white rhinoceros being relocated from South Africa to Akagera Park.

Akagera National Park is now home to approximately 20 black rhinoceros and 30 white rhinoceros. These giant species are best seen during game drives grazing in the open savanna grassland.

Rwanda Big Five Safari Experience

Best Big Five Safaris in Akagera:

• 3 Days Gorillas and Big Five Safari
• 4 Days Volcanoes and Big Five Safaris
• 7 Days Rwanda Wildlife Safari