Finding Leopards on a Tanzania Safari

Of all the Big Five, leopards are some of the toughest to guarantee. They hunt and live alone, stay mostly nocturnal, and pass the daylight hours resting out of view. Still, certain spots in Tanzania consistently beat those odds. Seronera, in the central Serengeti, counts among the finest leopard-viewing areas anywhere in Africa. The scattered fig and sausage trees there are the reason, since leopards like to doze in their branches while the day heats up. When you go matters just as much as where. Leopards are busiest around dawn and dusk, so game drives in the early morning or late afternoon give you clearly better chances than a midday drive, by which time the cats are typically settled and motionless. Another good leopard area that people often skip is the riverine woodland in Tarangire. Visitors who have their hearts set on the Serengeti can overlook it, but the dense trees lining Tarangire's rivers are every bit as suitable for leopards. See our complete guide to the Serengeti's big cats, or browse our safari itineraries to plan around prime leopard-viewing time.