Western Sahara's Desert Wildlife

The territory of Western Sahara may have a chequered history, but it is home to a remarkable collection of mouth-watering birds and mammals, many of which are almost impossible to see elsewhere, including Sand Cat and Fennec Fox On this adventurous new tour, we’ll venture deep into these windswept north-west African deserts in search of their elusive wildlife.

We’ll fly into the coastal town of Dakhla, where we’ll stay in a comfortable tourist hotel. The shores of Dakhla Bay support abundant migrant waders, as well as Audouin’s Gull and West African Crested Tern, while the critically endangered Atlantic Humpback Dolphin can occasionally be seen offshore.

Moving inland, we’ll scour the deserts for such exciting birds as Crowned Sandgrouse, Cricket Warbler, Cream-coloured Courser and Dunn’s Lark, while a flock of Desert Sparrows could contain one or two gorgeous Sudan Golden Sparrows. However, it’s at night that the landscape truly comes alive; after darkness falls, we’ll head out with spotlights in an attempt to find some of the Western Palaearctic’s most rarely seen animals. Hoped for mammals will include Sand Cat, Ruppell’s and Fennec Fox, African Golden Wolf, Saharan Striped Polecat, Desert Hedgehog and African Wildcat. This tour is predominantly focused on locating elusive nocturnal mammals, so it’s important to note that the tour will involve long nights of spotlighting, returning generally in the early hours; we will consequently not start each day’s activities until the afternoon, in order to give guides and clients sufficient time to rest. This is a tour designed for keen mammal-watchers, who are prepared to endure long nights and basic conditions for the chance to see rare and elusive wildlife.

We’ll base ourselves for three nights in a comfortable but very basic desert house, but we will also have the opportunity to spend two nights out in a remote campsite, specially set up for our visit. Please note that this campsite has very limited facilities, including no toilets. While basic, this campsite will take us close to the wildlife, and will also provide an intimate experience of this vast landscape, and magnificent views of an unadulterated night sky.