Summary: On a four-day stay at Jambiani (southeast coast of Zanzibar) I saw four mammals at the Mahi Mahi Beach Hotel. These included Small-eared Greater Galago, Zanzibar Red Colobus and Blue Monkey. Dates visited: 31 Oct – 4 Nov 2024.
This post covers Jambiani town only. Records for the nearby Kuumbi Cave are posted here (seven mammal species). Refer to my Zanzibar page for links to other site reports and notes on logistics for the island.
Paul Carter (paulcarter@pacapix.com)
Posted: 17 Aug 2026
Contents
a) Mammals
b) Reptiles
c) Birds
d) Logistics (2024)
A. Mammals
Species seen and photographed at Mahi Mahi Beach Hotel, Lifers marked as **:
(1) Rat species (Rattus sp). PH (2/11/24-2052h).
(2) Small-eared Greater Galago (Otolemur garnettii)**. PH (2/11/24-2028h).
(3) Blue Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis): ssp Sykes’s Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis albogularis). PH. Habituated and seen daily.
(4) Zanzibar Red Colobus (Piliocolobus kirkii)**. PH. Habituated. iNat post.
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B. Reptiles
Two species of gecko seen:
(1) Painted Dwarf Gecko (Lygodactylus picturatus)**. PH. 1/11/24.
(2) Tropical House Gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia). PH. 2/11/24. iNat post.
C. Birds
Birds included (1) Crab-Plover (Dromas ardeola), common on the tidal flats. iNat post, (2) Western Reef Heron (Egretta gularis), iNat post here; iNat 92026 July) shows only 8 other records for East Africa (under-reported).
D. Logistics (2024)
The Mahi Mahi Beach Hotel (6.344199°S 39.557738°E) is in Jambiani town on the southeastern coast of Zanzibar. The hotel is 9 km south of Paje. The undeveloped plot alongside the hotel has a very small patch of “forest” which was good for the primates. Once the owners/managers saw I was looking for mammals they put out some fruit to attract the local galagos.
The resort is very close to the track to Kuumbi Cave, where I saw seven mammal species, and a useful base for the cave.
The small but useful Jambiani Supermarket is 4.9 km north of the Mahi Mahi Beach Hotel.
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