For most Americans, a safari featuring the Big Five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and Cape buffalo) remains the most popular choice for seeing African wildlife.
“Most U.S. travelers first request wildlife they have seen on popular TV shows such as National Geographic,” said Jim Holden, president of Holden Safaris.
But there is no doubt that the safari experience has evolved. Guests, especially regulars, began requesting a deeper dive into the continent. And Africa offers visitors more than just headliners, executives say.
“There are smaller, more unique animals that travelers can see on safari that are just as fascinating as the Big Five, including the meerkat colony at the Makgadikgadi salt flats in Botswana, the beautiful bird-watching opportunities with hundreds of pink flamingos, and Lake Manyara in Tanzania. These are nocturnal animals that can be spotted on night game drives,” said Sherwin Banda, Chairman of African Travel.
Critically endangered and often called “Africa’s panda,” pangolins are considered “the holy grail of wildlife viewing,” according to Pangolin Photo Safaris founder Toby Jermyn. Photo courtesy of Helena Atkinson.
Pangolin: ‘Africa’s Panda’
Some safari operators, such as Pangolin Photo Safaris, have begun creating experiences that reveal a completely different side of the continent’s wildlife.
As founder Toby Jermyn explains, the company’s name itself reflects this philosophy. “Everyone else called themselves Elephant or Tusker or Lion, but no one called themselves Pangolin. The good thing is that it starts the conversation right from the beginning: ‘What is a pangolin?’
“It teaches people that it’s not just about the big things.”
Because they are critically endangered, they are often called “African pandas.” Pangolins are prized by poachers for their meat and scaly hide, which are used in traditional medicine. Pangolins are arguably the most elusive creatures on the continent.
“Pangolins are incredibly difficult to track,” said Wendy Panaino, an ecologist at the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve in South Africa. “They are primarily nocturnal and shy. Many times, I have walked right past a pangolin without even knowing it was there.” “They occur naturally in sparsely populated areas and are only active for about four to eight hours each day.”
“Pangolins are the holy grail of wildlife viewing,” Jermyn said in reference to wildlife photographers.
He said there is no guarantee that guests will see pangolins during their safari because they are difficult to find. “When a pangolin lets you see it, it’s a special moment,” Jermyn said. “You can’t train it, you can’t tame it. Enjoy the journey as well as the destination.”
Meerkats can provide fascinating wildlife encounters even outside the Big Five. Photo credit: Dorine Reinstein
But Pangolin offers much more than its name suggests. According to Jermyn, it originated in the Chobe region of northern Botswana. “This is one of the best places to photograph wildlife all year round. The river makes it amazing all year round, even on rainy days.” Or the green season with abundant birds. And all year round, there is always something to photograph in Chobe. That’s why we started here. We have since expanded into Namibia, Zimbabwe and beyond.”
Located at the Pangolin Chobe Hotel, the company’s signature eight-day Chobe and Okavango Delta Photo Safari offers guests an immersive experience. Each guest receives professional-grade equipment to use along with personalized guidance from a professional photography host. Between game drives, guests review images and receive practical tips.
This hands-on approach enhances the safari experience, encouraging guests to truly see the animals and their environment, Jermyn said.
“People are showing up in Manhattan not knowing how to use $40,000 worth of equipment they just bought, and they’re creating amazing images over the weekend,” Jermyn said. “More importantly, they see things differently. A monitor lizard in a tree becomes a study to photograph for an hour. Baboons, often overlooked on traditional safaris, turn into fascinating subjects, especially early in the morning through their fur. Even more so when it’s beautifully backlit. Pick up those chestnut brown eyes.”
To protect these vulnerable creatures, Pangolin Photo Safaris has developed the Pangolin Guardian program, a free course that promotes ethical wildlife viewing. This is a 15-minute online session that anyone can participate in. Pangolin recommends completing this before guests arrive.
Luxury suite at The Motse, Tswalu Kalahari safari camp. Photo credit: Dorine Reinstein
Africa’s Mysterious Inhabitants
Other options also exist.
Sustain Safaris’ 19-day South African tour visits 10 protected areas, from the semi-arid Madikwe Private Game Reserve to the stark beauty of the Karoo, and encounters more than 75 species of mammals, including aardvarks, honey badgers and black pigs – some of Africa’s most enigmatic creatures. It is targeted. -The pawed cat and the aardwolf.
Sustain’s itineraries include destinations known to offer encounters with exceptionally rare species. Their routes cover a variety of habitats, including woodlands, savannahs, wetlands, grasslands, mountains and cliffs, scrublands, and rocky slopes. Each environment offers a variety of opportunities, from nighttime predator drives at Marrick Safari Park in central South Africa to specialized tours to spot sengi (elephant shrews).
For every pangolin sighting during a tour, Sustain donates about $70 per person to conservation organizations.
Tswalu Kalahari, South Africa’s largest private game reserve, is home to familiar animals including cheetahs, leopards, lions and spotted hyenas. But it also promotes the “secret seven” species, including the ground pangolin, meerkat, brown hyena, aardwolf, Cape fox, African wild cat and aardvark.
Russel Binks, business development and public relations executive at Tswalu, said there has been a clear surge in interest in more immersive conservation experiences in the U.S. market.
“The trend is moving towards longer, more immersive safaris where guests want to understand the impact of their stay on biodiversity conservation,” he said. As Binks explains, these “sincere contributors” are looking for deeper engagement with the ecosystems they visit.
Coordinating encounters with rare species is a unique challenge. Even the Big Five can be difficult to spot, but sightings are often possible with patience and an experienced guide. This is less likely in species such as pangolins.
“Tracking these elusive and often solitary animals takes time, patience, and a thorough knowledge of the tracks they leave in the wild,” Binks said. “Spending a few minutes in front of a pangolin is truly an unforgettable moment.”
Deirdre Opie, Tswalu’s chief guide, said: “The key is to understand that this is not your typical safari experience. These animals aren’t called hard to find for nothing. They might be waiting for a pangolin or an aardvark to come out of their burrows for the night. A pride of lions lets you know where the lions are. “By knowing whether the lion is drinking water, we can better predict the lion’s whereabouts.”
