Africa

Angola

A long, wild Atlantic coast where leatherbacks nest in Iona and whales pass, shared as a story for now.

Leatherback turtle, found in the waters of the wider region · Photo: Max Gotts on Unsplash

Story only

Story only, for now. We love learning about this place and its ocean, so we share its story here and do not sell trips yet. Checked by Ocean Calling on 6 Oct 2026. Sources: From hunters to guardians: Angolan villagers help save sea turtles (AFP via Dunya News); Atlantic humpback dolphin in Angola, Sousa teuszii Network; Angola travel advice, UK FCDO (gov.uk).

Why: Angola's coast is home to a community-led turtle story: since 2003 the Kitabanga Project, run by Agostinho Neto University with the Kissama Foundation, has trained around 70 former hunters and villagers to guard olive ridley and leatherback nests at Longa. Humpback whales are the most often seen whales offshore, and the rare Atlantic humpback dolphin lives along a small stretch of Namibe coast. We share these stories and cheer on the guardians, and we never swim with, touch or chase wildlife.

WhalesTurtles

Why Angola

Angola's southern Iona National Park has quiet shores where sea turtles, including leatherbacks, nest, and migrating humpback and southern right whales pass along its coast. Kissama National Park has turtle nesting beaches and manatees off the coast. Turtle numbers have fallen in both places because of coastal development and hunting. Governments advise against all but essential travel to Cabinda and parts of Lunda Norte.

Conservation-led. Ocean Calling guests never chase, touch or bait animals.

When to go

Timing changes a lot from place to place. See each place below.

We share this place as a story so you can learn. There is no Ocean Calling trip.

Our ethics check

Can we travel here ethically?

Story only

We tell the story. We do not sell a trip here.

Checked 6 Oct 2026. Places change, so we look again every year.

Sources for this check

The story

Where in Angola

We share these places as stories and research notes. We do not offer or sell trips here.

Iona National Park coast

Story only

The largest park in Angola, with quiet desert shores where turtles nest and whales pass offshore.

Also seen: Turtles (nesting), Humpback and southern right whales (passing offshore)

Kissama National Park coast

Story only

A park south of Luanda where turtles nest on the beaches and manatees are reported off the coast.

Also seen: Sea turtles and manatees (present here, not a sighting trip)

Animals

Animals recorded in Angola

Tap an animal to learn how it lives, where it travels and how to meet it respectfully.

Land animals

Leatherback hatchling crossing the sand toward the sea

Leatherback turtleDermochelys coriaceaSeen in 76 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Humpback whale swimming close with long pectoral fin

Humpback whaleMegaptera novaeangliaeSeen in 87 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Southern right whale surfacing with V-shaped blow and pale callosities, Argentina

Southern right whaleEubalaena australisSeen in 7 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Olive ridley turtles nesting on Playa Ostional, Costa Rica

Olive ridley turtleLepidochelys olivaceaSeen in 40 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Crowded Cape fur seal colony on the shore at Cape Cross, Namibia

Cape fur sealArctocephalus pusillus pusillusSeen in 3 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Mother and calf manatee diving together in the Casamance River, Senegal

West African manateeTrichechus senegalensisSeen in 15 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Bryde’s whale surfacing and exhaling in deep blue open ocean

Bryde's whaleBalaenoptera edeniSeen in 36 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Sperm whale mother raising her fluke beside her calf off Dominica

Sperm whalePhyseter macrocephalusSeen in 114 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Scalloped hammerhead shark cruising in deep blue Red Sea water

Scalloped hammerheadSphyrna lewiniSeen in 57 countries in the AtlasCritically Endangered

Short-finned pilot whale surfacing off Tenerife with the island behind

Short-finned pilot whaleGlobicephala macrorhynchusSeen in 43 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Pod of common dolphins surfacing in calm blue sea

Common dolphinDelphinus delphisSeen in 53 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Dense Cape gannet colony at Lambert's Bay, Western Cape

Cape gannetMorus capensisSeen in 7 countries in the AtlasEndangered

Scarred Risso's dolphin spyhopping out of the water

Risso's dolphinGrampus griseusSeen in 56 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Striped dolphin leaping, dark flank stripe clearly visible

Striped dolphinStenella coeruleoalbaSeen in 43 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Heavily spotted adult Atlantic spotted dolphin with young, Azores

Atlantic spotted dolphinStenella frontalisSeen in 22 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Silky shark swimming near the surface in blue water

Silky sharkCarcharhinus falciformisSeen in 48 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Whitespotted eagle ray gliding over reef and sand in Belize

Whitespotted eagle rayAetobatus narinariSeen in 58 countries in the AtlasEndangered

Common octopus crawling over a rocky seabed in France

Common octopusOctopus vulgarisSeen in 32 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Common hippopotamusHippopotamus amphibiusSeen in 17 countries in the AtlasLives on landVulnerable

Blackchin guitarfish lying on pale sand beside rocks, with a shark-like tail and two tall dorsal fins

Blackchin guitarfishGlaucostegus cemiculusSeen in 20 countries in the AtlasCritically Endangered

Spiny dogfish resting on the seabed at the Josephine Marie shipwreck, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

Spiny dogfishSqualus acanthiasSeen in 47 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Dusky grouperEpinephelus marginatusSeen in 40 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Diver beside an Atlantic goliath grouper at Dry Tortugas National Park

Goliath grouperEpinephelus itajaraSeen in 25 countries in the AtlasVulnerable Milk sharkRhizoprionodon acutusSeen in 33 countries in the AtlasVulnerable Atlantic weasel sharkParagaleus pectoralisSeen in 18 countries in the AtlasEndangered

Common smooth-hound swimming just above a sandy seabed, with a slim grey-brown body and two dorsal fins

Common smooth-houndMustelus mustelusSeen in 35 countries in the AtlasEndangered

Great cormorant perched on a branch, with white head plumes and a glossy blue-black back

Great cormorantPhalacrocorax carboSeen in 90 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Reed cormorant perched on a low stump among tall reeds

Reed cormorant (long-tailed cormorant)Microcarbo africanusSeen in 27 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

African darter with wings spread low over the water, droplets flying

African darterAnhinga rufaSeen in 21 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Brown ray resting on a sandy seabed, with a blue-centred eyespot on each wing

Brown rayRaja miraletusSeen in 18 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern

Common torpedo resting on sand, showing the dark spots on its round disc

Common torpedo (ocellate torpedo)Torpedo torpedoSeen in 16 countries in the AtlasVulnerable

Curious?

Why this is a story, not a trip

Read our ethics check above. If you would like to talk about it, Rocío is happy to explain.

Ask Rocío Back to the Ocean Atlas

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