Kasanka National Park’s hide at ‘Fibwe’ is generally rated as Africa’s best vantage point for observing Sitatunga antelopes. 18 meters high in a ‘Mululu’ African Mahogany tree, it gives a panoramic view over the Kapabi swamp. Visitors often see more than 20 sitatunga in a single visit and the record is 94. These elusive antelope are less active during the hotter hours of the day and are best seen at dawn and dusk when they emerge to feed. Visitors occasionally also see Crocodile, Bushbuck, Waterbuck Buffalo and Elephant from the platform. Many species of birds, including Coucals, Mousebirds, Bohm’s bee-eaters, Ross’s and Schalow’s Louries are seen here. The hide is also a perfect site for viewing the Straw-coloured Fruitbats as they leave the adjacent forest to feed at night.
Kasanka hosts a unique wildlife spectacle every November and December when Millions of Straw-coloured Fruitbats assemble from around Central Africa to roost in an area of ‘Mushitu’ swamp forest near the confluence of the Musola and Kasanka Rivers. At twilight bats fill the sky in all directions for twenty solid minutes as they leave their roost site to feed though the night on abundant seasonal fruit of the “miombo” woodlands. This event is one of Africa’s most amazing and unusual wildlife spectacles – never forgotten by those lucky enough to witness it. Visitors can also take guided walks through the forest in the day time to view the bats as they chatter, fly and crawl about their roost. This bat migration has been the subject of intense interest from scientists who are trying to find the reason why so many colonies all assemble in this one corner of Zambia. They report that it is the largest aggregation of mammals in Africa, and probably the most concentrated in the world.