The big, the tall and the downright odd
The African savanna is packed with showstoppers, and this word search gathers the lot. You'll be tracking the LION and his PRIDE, the enormous ELEPHANT, the impossibly tall GIRAFFE, and the fastest sprinter on the plains, the CHEETAH. The RHINO and HIPPO are here too — best admired from a safe distance.
Each puzzle pulls a fresh selection from the herd, so the game drive changes every time you play — gentle on Easy, and a Hard-mode safari once the diagonals and backwards words appear (a giggling HYENA likes to hide backwards in the tall grass).
Not just the headliners
The savanna's smaller stars get their moment too. Keep an eye out for the lookout MEERKAT, the scruffy WARTHOG, the cheeky BABOON and the elegant GAZELLE, IMPALA and ANTELOPE bounding across the plain. There's the BUFFALO, the LEOPARD, the JACKAL, the long-legged OSTRICH and the lurking CROCODILE — plus the LIONESS who does most of the pride's hunting, and the WILDEBEEST, star of the great migration.
How the savanna fits together
Every animal in this grid has a part to play on the SAVANNA. The big plant-eaters share the buffet by feeding at different heights: the GIRAFFE uses its long neck and tongue to strip leaves from the treetops, the ZEBRA and WILDEBEEST crop the grass, and the ELEPHANT pushes over whole trees, opening up space for everyone else. Each year more than a million wildebeest, zebra and GAZELLE trek hundreds of miles in the great migration, following the rains to fresh grass.
The hunters are built for the chase. The CHEETAH is the fastest land animal on Earth, hitting around 70 miles per hour in short bursts, while the LION relies on teamwork — it's mostly the LIONESS who hunts, working together as a PRIDE to bring down prey far bigger than herself. Even the much-mocked HYENA is a brilliant, clever hunter, not just a scavenger. Predators, grazers and the odd MEERKAT lookout all balance one another, which makes the safari a perfect topic for a lesson on habitats, food chains and the continent of Africa.
Great for an Africa or wild-animals topic
Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words, great for a habitats or continents topic. Play online, print a PDF pack, or head to Make Your Own to build a grid from your own safari animals.
Frequently asked questions
Which safari animals are in the word search?
All the savanna stars — lion, elephant, giraffe, zebra, rhino, cheetah, hyena and more, plus words like pride, mane and savanna. Each puzzle uses a fresh mix.
Are the 'Big Five' included?
Yes — the lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard all appear, alongside savanna favourites like the giraffe, zebra and cheetah.
Does it suit a lesson on Africa or wild animals?
Nicely. Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words, great for a habitats or continents topic.