Lions
2 places to see and hear lions in the wild, in 2 countries from Senegal to Benin: when each one peaks, where to go on your own, what it costs and what you will hear. Wild animals only, no zoos.
Best time, place by place
| Spectacle | Country | Peak | On your own? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Niokolo-Koba — hippos, lions and the Gambia river in the dry season | Senegal | 1 Feb – 30 Apr | Guide, ranger or boat needed |
| Pendjari: lions, elephants and hippos at the dry-season pools | Benin | 15 Jan – 15 Apr | Guide, ranger or boat needed |
Where to go, north to south
Niokolo-Koba — hippos, lions and the Gambia river in the dry seasonHippo pods bellowing on the Gambia river below the Simenti terrace, lions roaring across the dry savanna, hyenas, and at dawn the booming of ground hornbills and the calls of spur-winged geese and Egyptian plovers on the sandbars.
Pendjari: lions, elephants and hippos at the dry-season poolsLions roaring across the Pendjari plain in the small hours — one of the few places in West Africa where this is still likely — hippos bellowing at Mare Bali, elephants at the pools, hyena whoops and a savanna dawn of francolins, ground hornbills and doves.