Best places to see the big five in Rwanda

The big five are the most notable mammal species on the African continent and these have been tracked by over a million travellers visiting the different African countries where the big five can be found. Rwanda is one of the countries where the big five are found, and these are located in the only savannah national park in Rwanda known as the Akagera National Park. The Big Five animals were first named by the colonialists in the 19^th century because they were hard to hunt and dangerous on foot. It should be noted that the big five were hunted for their tasks, hooves and many more others. Up to date, the big five are few because of the poaching and hunting.

Travellers interested in watching the Big Five Rwanda have to visit Akagera National Park, which offers game drives as the best way to spot the Big Five and other wildlife species. Although the animal species population in Akagera National Park is still low, the government of Rwanda has re-introduced and continued to protect the wildlife in the park while still recovering from the 1994 genocide.

Akagera National Park is one of the largest parks in Rwanda which attracts a large population of tourists per year. Found in the eastern part of Rwanda, Akagera National Park is home to a wide variety of wildlife species, including lions, leopards, hippos, elephants, zebras, giraffes and buffaloes, among others. The presence of Lake Ihema is a blessing because most of the wildlife, including the big five, can be seen along the banks of the lake, especially during the dry season. There are several activities that are carried out in Akagera National Park, and these include Game drives, community trips, primate walks and bird watching, among others.

Attractions in Akagera National Park

Visiting Akagera National Park comes with benefits because the park has interesting attractions that will keep tourists entertained throughout the safari and these include:

Wildlife: The national park has over 8000 animals that live in the park, and these include cape buffaloes, the African bush elephant, lions, leopards, Black eastern Rhinos, hippos, giraffes, antelopes, impalas, waterbucks and zebras, among others.

Lions are part of the big five that you should look out for when visiting Akagera National Park. The lions in Akagera were re-introduced in 2015 after a 15 year long absence in the whole country due to poaching and human conflicts. The lions were re-introduced after collaboration among conservation organizations, Rwanda Development Board and other African National Parks. After the re-introduction of lions in Akagera National Park, there has been a steady increase in tourists visiting the park to see the lions in their natural habitat.

The lions that were introduced in Akagera National Park are of the East African subspecies, which are the darkest and largest subspecies of lions on the African continent, although the lions in Akagera are smaller as compared to their counterparts in East Africa because there is less prey in Akagera. They have an impressive mane which varies from light to dark in color. The best way to see lions in Akagera is by going for a guided wildlife tour which is led by experienced guides. It is safe to note that lions are dangerous and need to be treated with a lot of respect.

Leopards: leopards, which are part of the big cats family, are part of the big five to look out for during a big five safari to Rwanda. Leopards are known to be sneaky and isolated animals that have a golden dotted body that is large. The leopards in Akagera National Park can best be seen around the Magashi Tented Camp found within the park, and there are believed to be about 15 to 20 leopards in Akagera.

Leopards are the most difficult to track in Akagera, and this is because of their solitary nature, which leads them to hide in trees and sometimes hunt at night. They are hard to spot, and their presence can only be verified by the evidence left behind along the tracks, including faeces and discarded food. Tracking is hard, including the trackers, because if the leopards notice that they are being tracked, they hide and let people pass without making a sound. The only way to enjoy leopard tracking in Akagera is by being patient and calm during your safari.

Buffaloes: Located in the eastern part of Rwanda, Akagera National Park is home to the African buffalo which is known for its massive size, strength, and distinct horns spread across the wide head. Due to poaching and loss of habitats for the buffaloes, there has been a drastic decline in the buffalo population, but the help of the Rwandan government has led to a steady increase in the buffalo population in the national park.

Also known as the Cape buffalo, these were re-introduced in Rwanda through the collaboration of the Rwanda government with other African parks and conservationists and this has greatly increased the number of tourists visiting the park to get a glimpse of the big five in Akagera. Visit Akagera National Park to see the buffaloes and other big five. You need to be careful as you watch the Buffalo because although it is a social animal, it is also dangerous.

Elephants: Elephants in Akagera National Park were introduced in 1975, and these included 14 males and 12 females, and they were all 7-year-old elephants. Three of these elephants were habituated, and these were Mwiza, Helico and the chief known as Mutware; however, with time, the two habituated elephants joined the wild ones apart from Mutware. Because Mutware was lonely, he became a menace and attacked the neighbouring villages. Mutware is now about 40 years old, but he lost his ivories during the 1994 genocide, and at the moment, he is the most visited elephant in Akagera National Park.

Rhinos: Due to their extinction in most parts of the world, rhinos are the most sought after big five animals in Akagera National Park. Akagera National Park was affected during the 1994 genocide that saw a larger part of the park destroyed, and this came with many animals losing their lives while others migrated, including the over 50 rhinos that were previously in the national park. The war saw the extinction of rhinos in Rwanda, and in 2017, the first black rhinos were re-introduced in the park, and these were 18 transferred from South Africa. The Rwanda Development Board, Howard.G. Buffet Foundation came up with the strategy that saw the introduction of rhinos in Akagera National Park. More than five rhinos were transferred to Akagera National Park from Europe, and these consisted of two males and three females.