Zakouma National Park

Zakouma National Park, in the remote savanna of southern Chad, is one of the great conservation success stories in Africa and an increasingly renowned safari destination. Its once-magnificent wildlife, especially its elephants, was devastated by industrial-scale poaching, which slaughtered thousands, but a determined management partnership has turned the tide, ending the killing and allowing the elephants to recover and breed once more, now gathering again in great herds. The park's floodplains and woodlands teem with lions, giraffe, buffalo, roan antelope and an extraordinary abundance of birds, drawn to its waters in the dry season, making Zakouma a magnificent, wild and uncrowded safari and a symbol of hope.

History

Declared in 1963, Zakouma is Chad's oldest national park, and its elephants were hit hard by the ivory trade and poaching; since 2010 the nonprofit African Parks has managed it with the government, giving its rangers radios, GPS units, horses, new bases and a rapid response team, and is credited with cutting poaching and bringing the elephant numbers back up. The park marked its fiftieth anniversary in February 2014, and in 2017 African Parks also took over the neighbouring Siniaka-Minia and Bahr Salamat reserves (Wikipedia, Zakouma National Park).

What you'll find

• The elephant herds - the recovered elephants gathering in numbers.
• The lions and plains game - the lions, giraffe, buffalo and antelope.
• The birdlife - the extraordinary abundance of birds.
• The floodplains - the seasonal waters teeming with wildlife.

When to go

February to April, late in the dry season, is the prime time, when wildlife, especially the great elephant herds and vast bird flocks, concentrates dramatically at the shrinking waters; the park is typically closed in the wet season, when the floodplains are inundated and access impossible. It is reached by charter flight and visited from a remote camp.

Before you go

Zakouma is deeply remote, usually reached by charter flight, and open only in the dry season from roughly January to April; costs are high and independent visits are impractical. For the reward of a wild and uncrowded safari, with elephants dramatically recovered in one of Africa's great conservation successes alongside lions, huge herds and spectacular birdlife, Zakouma is inspiring and unforgettable.

Nearby

The town of Am Timan and the southern savanna are within reach.

Key facts