Covering 48,000-sq-km of wilderness, Selous Game Reserve is Africa’s largest game reserve. Pronounced as ‘seloo’, the park is named after the great explorer and hunter. Being twice the size of the Serengeti National Park, Selous is crowned as is one of Tanzania’s three World Heritage Sites.

Tanzania’s largest river, the Rufiji, creates network of channels, lakes and swamps that produce one of the most outstanding ecological systems in East Africa. Woodlands, grasslands and stands of Borassus palm, bisect the Rufiji River.

Selous harbours significant herds of giraffe, buffalo, hippo, crocodile, elephant, wild dog, greater kudu, waterbuck, bushbuck, Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, sable and puku antelope. Along with this huge population of hippo, crocodile also call the river their home.

More than 440 bird species of birds are recorded in Selous. Among them the significant are pink-backed pelicans, African skimmers and giant kingfishers, carmine and white-fronted bee-eater colonies whilst pairs of fish eagle, palmnut vulture, ibises yellow-billed stork, white-crowned and spur-winged plovers, various small waders, malachite kingfishers, trumpeter hornbill, purple-crested turaco are the noted.

Wildlife Highlights

Selous harbours significant herds of giraffe, buffalo, hippo, crocodile, elephant, wild dog, greater kudu, waterbuck, bushbuck, Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, and sable and puku antelope. Along with this huge population of hippo, crocodile also calls the river their home.

The significant birds present inside the park are the pink-backed pelicans, African skimmers and giant kingfishers, carmine and white-fronted bee-eater colonies whilst pairs of fish eagle, palmnut vulture, ibises yellow-billed stork, white-crowned and spur-winged plovers, various small waders, malachite kingfishers, trumpeter hornbill, purple-crested turaco are the noted.

Best Time to visit

Like most national parks in Tanzania, the dry season from June to October is perfect for game viewing, as the vegetation is more sparse, making it easier to spot animals.

March to May and late October to mid-December is the rainy season, which makes many of the roads impassable and animals harder to spot.

For bird enthusiasts, we also recommend the shorter dry season from mid-December to March, as many migratory birds then settle in Selous. If the scarce wild dog is what you are after, June to August is perfect, as this is their denning season.