None of the camps in this reserve conduct game drives, so a visit here is usually much more about the ambience of the Delta rather than spotting game. Come for the experience, let any game sightings be a bonus, and you’ll have a good trip.
That said, there are good game densities in the area, and especially on the adjacent Chief’s Island. Even from a mokoro you’re likely to see hippopotami and crocodiles in the water. Elephants are frequently seen in the drier months, from May to October, wandering through the floodplains; from December to April they are around in smaller numbers.
When out walking on the islands there is a chance of much more game. The area’s dominant antelope is the red lechwe, but you will also find tsessebe, impala, zebra, kudu, reedbuck, giraffe, warthog and buffalo. As the area becomes drier with time, blue wildebeest are being seen more often. Roan, sable and waterbuck remain absent from this area. When the flood is at its height, sitatunga are occasionally seen. With the recent reintroduction of rhino to Chief’s Island, there’s a very slim chance that you could bump into one of these.
The most common predators here are lion, spotted hyena and jackals. Leopard are rarely seen, but they will be relatively common as the riverine forest suits them perfectly. Wild dogs and cheetah also occur here, but are rare sightings. There was even a report from this area of a brown hyena sighting, though this is certainly a rarity here.