Best virtual safaris and zoo tours to enjoy at home on YouTube
From Longleat to South Africa, discover the world’s wildlife from your sofa
Going on safari is often top of many travel bucket lists, but in these days of lockdowns the chance of seeing the world’s rare species seems even further away than usual.
While nothing will ever beat viewing the animals up close, safari companies and zoos are offering the next best thing: virtual wildlife tours.
UK attractions such as Longleat and Chester Zoo have opened their digital gates, while nature reserves in Africa are also welcoming virtual tourists.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Here we pick out the best virtual safaris and zoo tours to watch from the comfort of your own living room. The big five - lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and buffalo - await your visit.
Longleat virtual safari
Narrated by Kate Humble, this 30-minute tour of the popular safari park in Wiltshire gives viewers the chance to see the giraffe and zebra of the East Africa Reserve before venturing into the notorious Monkey Drive Through. Using a mix of audio commentary along with video footage and photos, there’s also close encounters with Longleat’s famous lions, as well as tigers, cheetahs and wolves.
Chester Zoo’s virtual zoo
The zookeeper team at Chester Zoo have opened the virtual gates for some animal antics with the popular residents. Watch the baby meerkats enjoy breakfast, share brunch with the eastern black rhinos and get up close with the secretive okapi.
Homeschooling with Knowsley Safari
Knowsley Safari’s home school is an online learning hub where children, parents and teachers can access educational videos, downloadable worksheets and fun animal facts and talks.
Explore’s live stream of Tembe Elephant Park
Tembe Elephant Park is renowned for having the largest elephants in Africa - and the planet. The wildlife park in South Africa is home to an abundance of animals including more than 340 bird species as well as the big five. Explore has a live feed in place, with the camera situated at one of the waterholes in the area, providing a perfect opportunity to spot the elephants. Look out for lions, rhinos and buffalo joining the elephants for a drink.
Real-time safaris with andBeyond and WildEarth
During April travel company andBeyond and wildlife broadcaster WildEarth are streaming personalised game drives twice daily. With chances to spot the big five in real-time, viewers will be able to join up to two live safaris a day, each of which will last approximately three hours. People will be able to interact with their safari guides, just as if they were actually on a game drive. The virtual safaris will be streamed from two South African game reserves: andBeyond Ngala Private Game Reserve and Djuma Private Game Reserve.
Shamwari Lockdown Series on YouTube
Shamwari Game Reserve in South Africa’s Eastern Cape is bringing safaris into homes with its “Shamwari Lockdown Series” on YouTube. Head ranger, Andrew Kearney, is delivering informative and educational videos around the wildlife such as identifying footprints, spotting the big five and showing the incredible flora and fauna species found on the reserve.
Sabi Sabi’s Elefun Escapes in the Wild
Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve in South Africa is offering educational videos in its new series called EleFun Escapes in the Wild. Sabi Sabi will bring safari to viewers with videos that share fun and engaging facts about the fauna and flora of the African bush.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Sport on TV guide: Christmas 2022 and New Year listings
Speed Read Enjoy a feast of sporting action with football, darts, rugby union, racing, NFL and NBA
By Mike Starling Published
-
House of the Dragon: what to expect from the Game of Thrones prequel
Speed Read Ten-part series, set 200 years before GoT, will show the incestuous decline of Targaryen
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
One in 20 young Americans identify as trans or non-binary
Speed Read New research suggests that 44% of US adults know someone who is transgender
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Turner Prize 2022: a ‘vintage’ shortlist?
Speed Read All four artists look towards ‘growth, revival and reinvention’ in their work
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
What’s on TV this Christmas? The best holiday television
Speed Read From films and documentaries to musicals for all the family
By The Week Staff Published
-
Coco vision: up close to Chanel opticals
Speed Read Parisian luxury house adds opticals to digital offering
By The Week Staff Published
-
Abba returns: how the Swedish supergroup and their ‘Abba-tars’ are taking a chance on a reunion
Speed Read From next May, digital avatars of the foursome will be performing concerts in east London
By The Week Staff Published
-
‘Turning down her smut setting’: how Nigella Lawson is cleaning up her recipes
Speed Read Last week, the TV cook announced she was axing the word ‘slut’ from her recipe for Slut Red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly
By The Week Staff Published