Although today there are still none of the heart-stopping walking safaris amongst elephant herds, or any lions brushing past your open vehicle as found in parks such as South Luangwa, you will find some of the most rare bird species and animals in Zambia in a uniquely beautiful corner of Africa. Over 330 bird species have been recorded, including such rarities as Pel’s fishing owl, the Pygmy goose, Ross’s loerie, the osprey and the wattled crane. Lucky ones even catch a glimpse of the rare shoebill stork. This is an excellent park for raptors as well such as the black-breasted snake eagle.
Leisurely safari walks and drives in the beautiful miombo woodlands, swamp forest, grasslands, floodplains and riverine bushveld reveal large herds of puku, spur winged goose, saddle-bill storks, hosts of hippos and waterbuck. Duiker are often seen in the woodlands fringing the pan. Lake Ndolwa is a beautiful and secluded spot where the shy shoebill stork has been seen in the papyrus reeds flanking the lake. Chikufwe Plain is particularly rewarding in the early hours of the morning during the dry season. The plain is the favorite haunt of the sable and also attracts large numbers of hartebeest, reedbuck and occasionally a few zebra and buffalo. There are also ample opportunities for fishing tigerfish, bream and barbel in the beautiful Luwombwa River.
The hippo in Kasanka National Park are recovering from depletion as are sable antelope, and Liechtenstein’s hartebeest. The puku, once reduced to a few hundred, today exceed 1500 individuals. There are also fairly large herds of the swamp-dwelling sitatunga, reedbuck, waterbuck, Sharpe’s grysbok and a good number of the rare blue monkey. Elephants do appear in the park from time to time, and their numbers are expected to increase.
