KnowKi

Learn the wildlife of national parks

Learn the wildlife of Ruaha National Park

Tanzania

605 species have research-grade observations inside Ruaha National Park on iNaturalist. KnowKi turns the most recorded into short lessons with real photos, so you know what you're looking at before you go.

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Āki the kiwi, KnowKi's guide

Most recorded here

The species with the most research-grade observations on iNaturalist, and how many each has. Most recorded doesn't mean native.

Birds

  1. Saddle-billed Stork Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis39
  2. Lilac-breasted Roller Coracias caudatus36
  3. Tanzanian Red-billed Hornbill Tockus ruahae36
  4. Little Bee-eater Merops pusillus31
  5. African Fish-Eagle Icthyophaga vocifer28
  6. Ashy Starling Lamprotornis unicolor27
  7. Eastern Chanting-Goshawk Melierax poliopterus25
  8. Southern Ground Hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri25
  9. Superb Starling Lamprotornis superbus24
  10. Bare-faced Go-away-bird Crinifer personatus24

Plants

  1. African baobab Adansonia digitata24
  2. Combretum purpureiflorum13
  3. Common Tree Euphorbia Euphorbia ingens11
  4. Hairy Spindlepod Cleome hirta8
  5. Crown flower Calotropis gigantea7
  6. Makalani Palm Hyphaene petersiana7
  7. Combretum longispicatum7
  8. Lion's ear Leonotis nepetifolia6
  9. Bloodlily Scadoxus multiflorus4
  10. Sesamothamnus busseanus4

Mammals

  1. Lion Panthera leo102
  2. African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana82
  3. Greater Kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros60
  4. Maasai Giraffe Giraffa tippelskirchi59
  5. Bush Hyrax Heterohyrax brucei48
  6. Common Hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius47
  7. Black-backed Jackal Lupulella mesomelas46
  8. Impala Aepyceros melampus41
  9. Plains Zebra Equus quagga39
  10. Yellow Baboon Papio cynocephalus38

Insects

  1. Pioneer White Belenois aurota10
  2. African Migrant Catopsilia florella8
  3. Yellow Pansy Junonia hierta7
  4. Plain Tiger Butterfly Danaus chrysippus5
  5. Guineafowl Butterfly Hamanumida daedalus5
  6. Zebra White Pinacopteryx eriphia5
  7. Dancing Amber Telchinia serena5
  8. Western Honey Bee Apis mellifera4
  9. Danaid Eggfly Hypolimnas misippus4
  10. Sundowner moth Sphingomorpha chlorea4

Spiders and kin

  1. Tanzanian Red Clawed Scorpion Pandinoides cavimanus9
  2. Eastern Ridge-back Scorpion Hottentotta eminii3
  3. Brown Widow Latrodectus geometricus2
  4. Tanzanian Whipspider Damon diadema2
  5. Pandipalpus viatoris2
  6. Selenops radiatus1
  7. Lesser Brown Scorpion Isometrus maculatus1

Reptiles

  1. Dodoma Rock Agama Agama dodomae37
  2. Nile Crocodile Crocodylus niloticus27
  3. Nile Monitor Varanus niloticus16
  4. Flap-necked Chameleon Chamaeleo dilepis15
  5. Leopard Tortoise Stigmochelys pardalis14
  6. Rainbow Skink Trachylepis margaritifer10
  7. Tanganyika Sand Snake Psammophis tanganicus9
  8. Puff Adder Bitis arietans9
  9. Rough-scaled Plated Lizard Broadleysaurus major9
  10. Crevice Tortoise Malacochersus tornieri6

Amphibians

  1. Grey Foam-nest Tree Frog Chiromantis xerampelina4
  2. Giant African Bullfrog Pyxicephalus adspersus3
  3. Edible bullfrog Pyxicephalus edulis3
  4. Guttural Toad Sclerophrys gutturalis3
  5. Senegal Running Frog Kassina senegalensis2
  6. Mottled Shovel-nosed Frog Hemisus marmoratus2
  7. Red-Banded Rubber Frog Phrynomantis bifasciatus2
  8. African Red Toad Schismaderma carens1
  9. Bocage's Tree Frog Leptopelis bocagii1
  10. Müller's Clawed Frog Xenopus muelleri1

Fish

  1. Blue Tigerfish Hydrocynus tanzaniae8
  2. Red-fin Robber Brachyalestes affinis3
  3. Bagrus orientalis1

How a trip works

A trip has its own trail of lessons: meet six species, match them to new photos, then practice with four choices. Species you learn go into your Fieldbook, and starting a trip earns its Passport stamp. Your home place stays as it is.

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Species lists and counts from research-grade observations on iNaturalist, as of October 2026. Parks outside the U.S. are from the World Database on Protected Areas (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, Protected Planet). KnowKi is not affiliated with the National Park Service or any park's managers. Free, with no ads, no account, and no purchases.