13 Wild Animals in Somalia [Wildlife in Somalia]

Learn All About Somali Animals

Ready to learn all about Somali animals?

I’ve always been fascinated by animals and by how they can be so different from one country to another. In this guide, we’ll focus on the many animals Somalia has on the land, in the sky, and underwater.

I’ve split the guide into 4 categories:

• Native animals from Somalia
• Endangered animals of Somalia
• What is Somalia national animal?
• How many animals native to Somalia?

Let’s dive in right away with our first category!

Native Animals from Somalia

Somalia is an African country located in the eastern part of the continent, in the Horn of Africa. It is made of plains, highlands, and plateaus, has the longest coastline on Africa’s mainland, is the most culturally homogenous country in Africa, and used to be an Italian colony. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Kenya, and its capital and largest city is Mogadishu, which counts more than 2,388,000 inhabitants.

An interesting part of the country that I wanted to tackle is its wildlife. In light of that, I have listed the best of it, and I hope you will love learning what animals live in Somalia.

Here’s the Somalia animals list.

1. Northeast African cheetah

• Name: Northeast African cheetah
• Scientific name: Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii
• Conservation status: Vulnerable

The Northeast African cheetah, also known as the Somali cheetah or the Sudan cheetah, is a subspecies of the cheetah found in the northeastern quadrant of the African continent. Aside from Somalia, it can be found in South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Djibouti.

There are fewer than 1,000 individuals left in the wild, and their numbers outside of protected areas are not known. The main threats they are facing are poaching, hunting for the illegal wildlife trade, habitat loss, and depletion of prey.

2. Nile crocodile

• Name: Nile crocodile
• Scientific name: Crocodylus niloticus
• Conservation status: Least concern

The Nile crocodile is one of the largest species of crocodile in the world and the largest one in Africa. Despite its name, it is not restricted to the river banks of the Nile, but can actually be found throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa, and is very common in southern Somalia.

This reptile, alongside the most dangerous crocodile, the saltwater crocodile, is known to kill probably thousands of humans each year, which is more than all other crocodiles combined!

3. Camel

• Name: Camel
• Scientific name: Camelus dromedarius
• Conservation status: Least concern

The camel is one of the most well-known animals in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It has been used for thousands of years to reach remote areas and to go through the arid desert of the Sahara. Somalia has the world’s largest population of camels.

Almost the entirety of the world’s camels are dromedaries or one-humped camels. The rest of them are Bactrian camels and the very rare and almost extinct wild Bactrian camel.

4. Reticulated giraffe

• Name: Reticulated giraffe
• Scientific name: Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata
• Conservation status: Endangered

The reticulated giraffe, also known as the Somali giraffe, is a subspecies of the giraffe native to the Horn of Africa: it can be found throughout Somalia, but also in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya.

There are about 8,500 reticulated giraffes in the world, and they are endangered because of poaching and habitat loss. This species is, together with the Rothschild’s giraffe, by far the most common one in zoos.

5. Somali ostrich

• Name: Somali ostrich
• Scientific name: Struthio molybdophanes
• Conservation status: Vulnerable

The Somali ostrich, also known as the blue-necked ostrich, is a large species of flightless bird native to the Horn of Africa. Previously considered a subspecies of the well-known common ostrich, it was classified as a distinct species in 2014.

Until the 1970s and 1980s, the Somali ostrich was common in the central and southern regions of Somalia. Following the political disaster of the country and the absence of wildlife conservation, hunting and poaching almost got completely rid of this ostrich, now listed as vulnerable to extinction.

6. Northern lion

• Name: Northern lion
• Scientific name: Panthera leo leo
• Conservation status: Critically endangered

The northern lion is a subspecies of the lion found in Central and West Africa, as well as India. While it used to inhabit North Africa, West Asia, and South Europe, it is now locally extinct in all these regions.

Because of a drastic decline in numbers due to poaching and habitat fragmentation and loss, the northern lion is on the brink of extinction: there are fewer than 250 mature individuals left, and they all live in fragmented, isolated populations.

7. African bush elephant

• Name: African bush elephant
• Scientific name: Loxodonta africana
• Conservation status: Endangered

The African bush elephant, also known as the African savanna elephant, is one of two species of elephant on the continent. Being the largest of them, it is the largest terrestrial animal on the planet, reaching up to 10.4 t / 11.5 short tons!

Sadly, the African bush elephant is seriously endangered by poaching for its ivory and meat and habitat loss and is strictly protected in several countries within its range.

8. Soemmerring’s gazelle

• Name: Soemmerring’s gazelle
• Scientific name: Nanger soemmerringii
• Conservation status: Vulnerable

Soemmerring’s gazelle, also known as the Abyssinian mohr, is a species of gazelle native to the Horn of Africa: it can be found in Somalia, South Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Ethiopia. It has been listed as vulnerable to extinction since 1986, mainly due to hunting and habitat destruction.

This gazelle is poorly known because of its small numbers. It feeds on acacia and bush leaves, as well as herbs and grasses, and lives up to 14 years.

9. Spotted hyena

• Name: Spotted hyena
• Scientific name: Crocuta crocuta
• Conservation status: Least concern

The spotted hyena, widely known as the laughing hyena, is a species of hyena native to almost all of sub-Saharan Africa. Contrary to popular belief, it is primarily a hunter and not a scavenger, but being particularly opportunistic and versatile, it will not hesitate to scavenge from time to time.

This mammal has a bear-like build and is the most successful large carnivore in Africa: with a very wide distribution and large numbers, its tolerance of much of Africa’s habitats and opportunism have made it a very common species.

10. Grévy’s zebra

• Name: Grévy’s zebra
• Scientific name: Equus grevyi
• Conservation status: Endangered

Grévy’s zebra, also known as the imperial zebra, is the largest wild equid in the world, and the most threatened of all zebras (the others being the mountain zebra and the plains zebra). It is exclusively found in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, and has large ears with narrow strips.

Its presence in Somalia is not certain, and it might have already disappeared from the country. This zebra inhabits barren plains and bushlands and relies on legumes and grasses for nutrition.

11. Hamadryas baboon

• Name: Hamadryas baboon
• Scientific name: Papio hamadryas
• Conservation status: Least concern

The hamadryas baboon is the northernmost of all baboons. It is a species of Old World monkey found on the Horn of Africa and in the southwestern Arabian Peninsula, where it inhabits savannas, arid areas, and rocky areas with cliffs and bodies of water.

This baboon was sacred in Ancient Egypt and settled in an area with few natural predators (compared to central and southern Africa).

12. Bushpig

• Name: Bushpig
• Scientific name: Potamochoerus larvatus
• Conservation status: Least concern

The bushpig is a species of wild pig native to sub-Saharan Africa. In Somalia, it can be found in the southernmost parts of the country, where it inhabits forests with high trees, gallery forests, cultivated areas, and swamplands.

This mammal is social and lives in groups of up to 12 members. It is extremely powerful and particularly aggressive, and can steamroll over a man without any issue! Because of this, one game scout had to spend 3 days in a tree to escape bushpigs.

13. Rock hyrax

• Name: Rock hyrax
• Scientific name: Procavia capensis
• Conservation status: Least concern

The rock hyrax, also known as the Cape hyrax, the coney, the dassie, or the rock rabbit, is a medium-sized species of mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Believe it or not, it is most closely related to the elephant!

This mammal can be found at elevations of up to 4,200 m / 13,800 ft above sea level, and usually stays near rock crevices through which it can escape potential predators.

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So there you have them, these were my 13 wild animals in Somalia. I hope you enjoyed this list and that you learned something new today.

In case you want to learn more about the wildlife of Somalia, feel free to keep reading, as I still have lots of things to tell you about:

Endangered Animals of Somalia

This is definitely the saddest part of the list, but it is very important to raise awareness. Because of this, let’s go through the list of endangered animals in Somalia.

Here are the animals in danger of extinction in Somalia.

Extinct in the wild

• None

Critically endangered

• Liben lark
• White-backed vulture
• Hawksbill turtle
• Black rhino
• African wild ass
• and 14 more…

Endangered

• Grevy’s zebra
• African savanna elephant
• Secretarybird
• Speke’s gazelle
• African spurred tortoise
• and 34 more…

To see the full list of endangered species in Somalia, head over to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

What is the National Animal of Somalia?

The national animal of Somalia is the African leopard.

The African leopard is the most common and widespread subspecies of the leopard. However, while its range used to be much wider, it is now restricted to small, scattered populations.

The leopard is the smallest of the big cat, although it is pretty large. The leopards in Somalia suffer from poaching for their body parts (mainly fur, bones, and organs), and are much smaller than others. It is not known how many of them are left in the country, but they are a symbol of might and freedom.

How Many Animals Native to Somalia?

What is the diversity of native animals in Somalia?

Let’s look at the total number of species of Chordata (mammals, birds, fishes, and reptiles).

Total number of animal species in Somalia: 2,473 (14,205 in total in sub-Saharan Africa)

More About Animals in the World!

Loved these Somalia animal facts? Want to see what animals live in other countries?

Then check out these posts:

• Wild Animals in Kenya
• Wild Animals in Tanzania
• Wild Animals in Zanzibar
• Wild Animals in the Gambia

Or click here to see ALL the facts up on the blog! Spoiler alert: there’s A LOT of them.

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