Is it safe to watch elephants from a car?

Yes, with respect. Keep the engine running, leave an escape route, never drive between a cow and her calf, and back off at the first sign of a head shake or ear spread. Elephants read space as pressure. In the parks, stay in the vehicle except at designated sites, and follow a guide without argument.

What is the conservation status of the African Elephant?

The African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

What is the African Elephant?

The African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), also known as the African savanna elephant, is the larger of the two species of African elephants. These elephants were previously regarded as the same species, but the African forest elephant has been reclassified as L. cyclotis.

Wildlife

African Elephant

Q: When is the best time to see elephants?

The dry months from May to September, when herds come to rivers and waterholes through the day and the bush is thin enough to see them. Summer disperses them but brings newborn calves and green country. Elephants are active in daylight, so timing within the day matters less than it does for the cats.

Loxodonta africanaEndangered

The African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), also known as the African savanna elephant, is the larger of the two species of African elephants.

from Wikipedia

Showing stays that recordAfrican Elephant50+ stays list it on site or nearby

Species insights▾

When to visit

Recorded year-round

Recorded in every month, so no month is the wrong month to look. We would rather say that than invent a best time.

Best monthsAny month

Records10,842 records

Curve from 10,842 national iNaturalist observations, not from one property. Single-month spikes are discarded as upload artefacts, and below 50 records we show no curve at all.

Where you'll find it

Mpumalanga and beyond

Provinces where African Elephant is most recorded. Tap one to find places to stay.

10,842 records, iNaturalist

Parks where hosts record the African Elephant

Places to stay

50+ results in South Africa

Tanda Tula Safari Camp

Limpopo

African Elephant recorded here · Savanna biome · 27 birds recorded · Lion, Leopard · Guided walk, Game drives

Price on request

Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge

Hluhluwe

African Elephant recorded here · Savanna biome · 285 birds recorded · African wild dog, Spotted hyena · Game drives

Price on request

Ubuntu Lodge at Elephant Point

Hazyview

African Elephant recorded here · Savanna biome · 1 bird recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Scenic drives

Price on request

Maninghi Lodge

Hoedspruit

African Elephant recorded here · Savanna biome · 8 birds recorded · Giraffe, African elephant · Game drives

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

Price on request

Rhino Sands Safari Camp

Hazyview

Hutwini Walking Camp by RETURN Africa

Limpopo

African Elephant recorded here · Forest biome · 16 birds recorded · Leopard, Spotted hyena · Fishing, Guided walk

Supports BirdLife South Africa

From R 11,820 per night

Plains Camp @ Rhino Walking Safaris

Mpumalanga

African Elephant recorded here · Savanna biome · 224 birds recorded · Aardvark, African elephant · Guided walk, Game drives

Supports BirdLife South Africa

Price on request

Jaci's Private Lodge

Madikwe

African Elephant recorded here · Savanna biome · 71 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Game drives, Photography

Supports Jaci's Lodge Trust

From R 31,500 per night

Laluka Safari Lodge

Vaalwater

African Elephant recorded here · Savanna biome · Leopard, Lion · Spa, Hiking

Price on request

Mont Eco Game Reserve

Mont Eco Game Reserve, Montagu

African Elephant recorded here · Succulent Karoo biome · Leopard, Lion · Guided walk, Game drives

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

Price on request

&Beyond Phinda Zuka Lodge

Hluhluwe

African Elephant recorded here · Savanna biome · 34 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Scenic drives

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 31,600 per night

&Beyond Tengile River Lodge

Bushbuckridge

African Elephant recorded here · Savanna biome · 37 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Wildlife viewing

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 93,000 per night

&Beyond Phinda Vlei Lodge

Hluhluwe

African Elephant recorded here · Savanna biome · 34 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Wildlife viewing

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 44,800 per night

&Beyond Phinda Rock Lodge

Hluhluwe

African Elephant recorded here · Savanna biome · 34 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Hiking

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 44,800 per night

&Beyond Phinda Mountain Lodge

Hluhluwe

African Elephant recorded here · Savanna biome · 34 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Wildlife viewing

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 35,500 per night

Plan a trip around these stays

Planning a trip

When and where to find the African Elephant

Elephants are the easiest of the Big Five to find and the most rewarding to sit with.

When to go, park by park

Here all yearEasiest viewing

Best months to visit each park where hosts record the African Elephant
Park	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Kruger	Here	Here	Here	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Here	Here	Here
Phinda	Here	Here	Here	Here	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing

Darker months are each park's own best season, when thinner bush or scarce water makes viewing easier. A sighting is never guaranteed.

Best hours of the day

Early morning and late afternoon. The African Elephant is out through the day, and easiest to watch before the heat.
Midday heat. Often resting in shade or near water.

Where to base yourself

Ways to look

Drive yourself

Your own vehicle and pace, on the park's roads.

Where hosts record it

Kruger Addo Elephant Marakele

Guided drives from a lodge

A guide who knows where to look, with off-road and night drives in the private reserves.

Where hosts record it

Phinda Gondwana Sabi Sand Welgevonden Amakhala

IUCN Red List

Endangered

Species

Loxodonta africana

Records

10 842

iNaturalist observations

Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.

Questions travellers ask

A record means a host has seen the African Elephant on the property or nearby. It is never a guarantee of a sighting.

More about the African Elephant

Elephants are the easiest of the Big Five to find and the most rewarding to sit with. They need a great deal of water and even more food, so in the dry season they are tied to rivers and waterholes and they move in daylight, which is the opposite of most big game. Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape is the surest place in the country: it was fenced in 1931 around the last eleven elephants of the Sundays River valley and now holds more than six hundred in thicket that has never stopped feeding them. Kruger, the Lowveld private reserves, Tembe in northern KwaZulu-Natal and the Tuli and Chobe systems on the northern borders are the others.

May to September concentrates them at water. In the green summer they disperse into the bush and are harder to find but far more pleasant to watch, with new calves in the herds. Addo is the exception to the season rule: its waterhole in front of the main camp works all year, and it is malaria-free, which makes it the usual choice for families.

Pair elephants with the thicket restoration story of the Eastern Cape, a Lowveld Big Five reserve, or the desert-adapted elephants of the Namibian river valleys for the same animal living a completely different life.

Where is the best place to see elephants in South Africa?

Addo Elephant National Park is the most reliable, malaria-free and an hour from Gqeberha, with a waterhole at the main camp that works all year. Kruger and the private reserves beside it hold the largest population, and Tembe Elephant Park in northern KwaZulu-Natal is known for big bulls.

When is the best time to see elephants?