Summary
On visits to the Kuumbi Cave area (1-3 Nov 2024) I saw 7 mammal species including Tanzania Dwarf Galago, Eastern Tree Hyrax, Black-and-rufous Sengi and Four-toed Sengi.
This post covers Kuumbi Cave only. Refer to my Zanzibar page for links to other site reports and notes on logistics for the island.
Paul Carter (paulcarter@pacapix.com)
Posted: 15 July 2026
Contents
a) Mammals
b) Reptiles
c) Birds
d) Logistics
e) References and Links
Abbreviations
Ph – Photographed. NP – Not photographed. 24-hour time is written as “hhmm” e.g. 3:49 PM written as “1549h” or “1549”. Lifers marked as **.
A. Mammals
The seven mammal species seen at Kuumbi Cave include one at genus level.
(1) Eastern Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax validus)**.
PH. Seen at Kuumbi Cave (2/11-1831h, 3/11/2024). Subspecies: Zanzibar Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax validus neumanni). On the iNat ssp page (as of June 2026) there is only one other image (dated 2025), suggesting it is not common on the island.
(2) Black-and-rufous Sengi (Rhynchocyon petersi)**.
NP. Seen on the road to Kuumbi Cave (1/11/2024-1715h).
(3) Four-toed Sengi (Petrodromus tetradactylus)**.
PH. Seen in forest at Kuumbi Cave entrance (2/11/2024-1930h).
(4) Slit-faced Bat sp (Nycteris sp).
PH. Seen inn Kuumbi Cave (2/11-xh-ph. iNat post.
ID OPTIONS: MDD lists 7 Nycteris sp in Tanzania; Kurrent Technologies (2024 p28) lists 4 species on Zanzibar: Egyptian Slit-faced Bat (Nycteris thebaica), Large Slit-faced Bat (Nycteris grandis), Hairy Slit-faced Bat (Nycteris hispida), and Large-eared Slit-faced Bat (Nycteris macrotis).
(5) Red Bush Squirrel (Paraxerus palliatus).
PH. Seen at Kuumbi Cave (3/11-1741h). My only Zanzibar record in 2024.
(6) Tanzania Dwarf Galago (Paragalago zanzibaricus)**.
AKA “Tanzania Coast Dwarf Galago” (MDD) or Zanzibar Galago” (iNat). Seen on the Kuumbi Cave path (3/11-1930h). My only Zanzibar record in 2024.
(7) Blue Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis).
NP. ssp Sykes’ Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis albogularis). Seen outside Kuumbi Cave.
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B. Reptiles
(1) Rough-scaled Plated Lizard (Broadleysaurus major). PH. Seen on the road to Kuumbi Cave. iNat post here.
C. Birds
Birds included:
- African Wood-Owl (Strix woodfordii). PH. In Kuumbi Cave, iNat post. As of June 2026 there are still no other images posted on iNat for Zanzibar, suggesting that it is not common on Unguja island.
- Red-capped Robin-Chat (Cossypha natalensis).
- Sombre Greenbul (Andropadus importunus).
- Olive Sunbird (Cyanomitra olivacea).
D. Logistics (2024)
Kuumbi Cave is in the Jambiani district, south of Paje, on the east coast of Zanzibar. We stayed at Mahi Mahi Beach Hotel, 300 m north of the track to Kuumbi Cave. The dirt road is about 2 km long and ends at the small Museum of Early Man building. From the museum it is a 500 metre walk on a path to the cave. Some GPS points of interest are:
Start of dirt road: -6.346121° 39.556985°.
Museum of Early Man: -6.359295° 39.545282°.
Kuumbi Cave: -6.361728° 39.542665°.
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E. References and Links
- Kurrent Technologies (2024 May 28). Provision of Consultancy Service for Conducting Birds and Bats Study along the Proposed 132 kV Backbone Transmission Line Route in Unguja. Final Report: Bat impact study. Zanzibar Energy Sector Transformation and Access Project (ZESTA). Consultancy contract TZ‑ZECO‑253715‑CS‑QCBS.104 pp. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099052824111036693/pdf/P1695611b9d2090a18e111b266a10ec142.pdf (see Section 4.1 “Bat species recorded on the island)
- MDD / Mammal Diversity Database (2025 Mar). Mammal Diversity Database (Version 2.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. Published 2025 March 11. https://zenodo.org/records/15007505.
iNat links for species posts:
Zanzibar Tree Hyrax (2 Nov 2024): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/381418189
Zanzibar Tree Hyrax (3 Nov 2024): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/381418816
Four-toed Sengi: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/381417048
Slit-faced Bat: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/381420867
Red Bush Squirrel:https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/381419718
Rough-scaled Plated Lizard: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/381724620
African Wood Owl: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/381416424
END. Return to Contents