Bat Migration Safari - Zambia

Few wildlife phenomena really stand out as extraordinary. This 7 night safari is one of them, with up to ten million fruit bats converging upon Kasanka National Park in Zambia. The wildebeest migration in East Africa, the monarch butterflies arriving in Mexico come to mind. Well this is amongst those top events in the wildlife calendar. Up to ten million “straw-coloured fruit bats” converge upon Kasanka National Park as the fruits of a local tree ripen. These bats roost in a specific woodland and literally cover the trunks of the trees like thick icing. Then at sunset they all take off and fly out to forage. The sky is thick with bats. You can view all this from the 60 ft high hide, in a tree top, next to the woodland. And from this hide, during the day you will see many sitatunga in the swamp below. These migrations happen in other parts of Africa, but they tend to occur in urban areas, and with the growth of cities, bat numbers seem to be on the decline. To see millions of bats dispersing at dusk against the setting sun is one of the wildlife wonders of Africa, and one that definitely shouldn’t be missed.
The safari combines with a few nights at Luangwa River Camp in the renowned South Luangwa National Park, where you will get to relish in the splendours of the Emerald Season in South Luangwa. The South Luangwa National Park, Zambia marks the end of the Great Rift Valley, one of the last remaining unspoilt wilderness areas and possibly the finest wildlife sanctuary in Africa. This is one of the most exclusive experiences on offer in the African bush. The park is centred around the Luangwa River. Untapped by man, its natural ebb and flow of flooding makes much of the park inaccessible by road which keeps it a sanctuary for the large concentration of game that live there. A paradise for birders, over 450 species are to be found in the park, and the wildlife includes elephant, buffalo, hippos, giraffe, leopards and lions.

Every year at the end of October thousands of “straw coloured fruit bats” congregate in the trees of the Mushitu swamp forest near the confluence of the Musola and Kasanka rivers in Kasanka National Park. The bats come to feed for a short six weeks on the abundance of seasonal fruit including wild loquat and water berries. By mid November their numbers reach into the millions. These migrations happen in other parts of Africa, but they tend to occur in urban areas, and with the growth of cities, bat numbers seem to be on the decline. To see millions of bats dispersing at dusk against the setting sun is one of the wildlife wonders of Africa, and one that definitely shouldn’t be missed. The safari will continue at Nkwali Camp, where you will get to relish in the splendours of the Emerald Season in South Luangwa. Kasanka is famed for having over 400 bird species, as well as both the tsessebe and sitatunga species of antelope. The South Luangwa River adds to the wildlife experience with the chance to see wild dog and explore the lush, colourful landscape at this time of year.