Visit Katavi National Park; What to see and do.
During the Dry season, the Katuma River is packed with hippo, and crocodile can be seen in caves in the river banks. Huge herds of buffalo, zebra and impala gather with elephant and defassa waterbuck around the drying water reserves of Lake Katavi and Lake Chada. Opportunistic lion are never far from the remaining water sources, waiting for their prey to come to them. Katavi isn't particularly known for unusual animals, but it is the numbers of them that are staggering. Buffalo herds numbering thousands can be seen. Hippo burst out of the remaining puddles of the seasonal rivers at the end of the Dry season. Beautiful sable antelope can sometimes be found in the miombo woodland.
Birdlife
Katavi National Park is mainly visited in the Dry season, which isn't the best time for birding, but the rivers harbor a large concentration of water-associated birds throughout the year. Particularly common are herons, plovers, spoonbills, African openbills and groups of stork including yellow-billed and saddle-billed stork. Raptors are well represented, with the fish eagle, bateleur and white-backed vulture being very common. Over 400 species have been recorded, and migratory birds are present from November to April.
