Night Safari: What Africa Looks Like After Dark

During daylight hours, most large predators rest. After dark, they come alive. Lions hunt, leopards patrol territory boundaries, and a cast of nocturnal species that most safari-goers never encounter emerges from burrows and hollow trees.

Aardvarks, bat-eared foxes, spring hares, and genets are among the creatures most easily spotted on a spotlight drive. Bushbabies — the wide-eyed, leaping primates of the acacia woodland — reflect the spotlight beam with brilliant orange eye-shine from the canopy. Civets move deliberately through the grass in search of berries and small prey.

The southern parks of Kenya and much of Tanzania allow night drives; some conservancies on the Mara’s edge offer them as standard. Check with your lodge or camp before arrival, as national park regulations in Kenya prohibit night drives inside park boundaries.