Mammals
Mkomazi is the only national park in Tanzania where you can see all the rare antelope species of the Sahel Biosphere, the semi-arid zone stretching south from the Sahara Desert. These include the lesser kudu, the gerenuk, and the beisa oryx. Mkomazi’s wide open plains, bordered by the Pare and Usambara Mountains, offer the opportunity to view large herds of ungulates in this strikingly beautiful, vast landscape.
Checklist: Mammals of Mkomazi National Park
Ungulates
- Aardvaark Orycteropus afer
- Rock hyrax Procavia sp
- Bush hyrax Heterohyrax brucei
- Tree hyrax Dendrohyrax validus
- Elephant Loxodonta africana
- Zebra (Burchelles) Equus burchelli
- Black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis (in two enclosed reserves)
- Bush pig Potamochoerus porcus
- Common warthog Phacochoerus africanus
- Giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis
- Bufallo Syncerus caffer
- Bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus
- Lesser Kudu Tragelaphus imberbis
- Greater Kudu* Tragelaphus strepsiceros
- Eland Taurotragus oryx
- Bush duiker Sylvicapra grimmia
- Harvey’s duiker Cephalophus harveyi
- Suni* Neotragus moschatus
- Steinbuck Raphicerus campestris
- Klippspringer Oreotragus oreotragus
- Kirk’s dikdik Madoqua kirkii
- Bohor reedbuck Redunca redunca
- Waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus
- Grant’s gazelle Gazella granti
- Gerenuk Litocranius walleri
- Impala Aepyceros melampus
- Kongoni Alcelaphus buselaphus
- Sable antelope* Hippotragus niger
- Fringe-eared oryx Oryx beisa
*no confirmed sightings for a few years
A Gerenuk stretches to reach the leaves of an Acacia tree.
Carnivores
- Side-striped jackal Canis adustus
- Black-backed jackal Canis mesomelas
- Bat-eared fox Otocyon megalotis
- Wild dog Lycaon pictus
- Zorilla Ictonyx striatus
- Honey badger Mellivora capensis
- Egyptian mongoose Herpestes ichneumon
- Slender mongoose Galerella (herpestes) sanguinea
- Dwarf mongoose Helogale parvula
- Somali dwarf mongoose Helogale hirtula
- Banded mongoose Mungos mungo
- White-tailed mongoose Ichneumia albicauda
- Striped hyena Hyaena hyaena
- Spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta
- Aardwolf Proteles cristata
- Common genet Genetta genetta
- Blotched genet Genetta tigrina
- African civet Civettictis civetta
- Wild cat Felis sylvestris
- Serval cat Felis serval
- Caracal Felis caracal
- Leopard Panthera pardus
- Lion Panthera leo
- Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus
The vast Tsavo/Mkomazi Ecosystem in Kenya and Tanzania is well known for it’s diversity of animals, rather than large numbers of single species. Sightings may include lion, cheetah, leopard, serval cat, wild dog, hyena, jackal, buffalo, zebra, eland, giraffe, elephant and many more.
Primates
- Yell0w baboon Papio cynocephalus
- Olive baboon Papio anubis
- Angola pied colobus** Colobus angolensis
- Vervet monkey Cercopithecus pygerythrus
- Sykes’ monkey Cercopithecus mitis
- Small-eared galago Otolemur garbetti
** Formerly quite common, last possible sighting 1995
Bats
- Rousette bat Rousettus aegyptiacus
- Epauletted bat Epomophorus sp.
- Slit-faced bat Nycteris thebaica
- Leaf-nosed bat Hipposideros caffer
- Guana bat Tadarida aegyptiaca
Insectivores
- White-toothed shrew Crocidura hirta
- Musk shrew Suncus lixus
- Lesser elephant shrew Elephantulus rufescens
- Chequered elephant shrew Rhynchocyon cirnei
- Scrub hare Lepus saxatilis
- Cape hare Lepus capensis
- Unstriped ground squirrel Xerus rutilus
- Ochre bush squirrel Paraxerus ochraceus
- African dormouse Graphiurus murinus
- Silky blesmol Heliophobius argenteocinereus
- Porcupine Hystrix galeata
- Bush rat Aethomys chrysophilus
- Spiny mouse Acomys cahirinus, A. ignitus, A. spinosissimus, A. wilsoni (possibly more)
- Unstriped grass rat Arvicanthis niloticus
- Taita pygmy gerbil Gerbillus pusillus
- Narrow-footed woodland mouse Grammomys dolichorus
- Zebra mouse Lemniscomys barbarus, L. griselda
- Shamba rat Mastomys natalensis
- Pygmy mouse Mus minutoides
- Common mouse Mus tenellus
- Meadow rat Myomys fumatus
- Saccostomus campestris
- Tatera nigricauda
- Tatera gerbil Tatera gerbil
- Taterillus osgoodi
