Elephant roam the Caprivi in large numbers, perhaps as many as 6 000 animals in all, a number that fluctuates seasonally. They are part of a broader population that moves between Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In the dry season they stay close to the rivers.

The wild dog (Lycaon pictus), endangered in Africa as a whole and critically so in Namibia, still survives in the Caprivi.

Wildlife is typical of central Africa rather than southern Africa. It includes African buffalo (Syncerus caffer), common impala (Aepyceros melampus), red lechwe (Kobus leche), roan (Hippotragus equinus), sable (Hippotragus niger), sitatunga (Tragelaphus spekei) and tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus).

Sometimes puku (Kobus vardonii), reedbuck (Redunca arundinum) and waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) are seen.

The reed and bulrush beds support chirping cisticolas (Cisticola pipiens), copperytailed coucals (Centropus cupreicaudus), greater swamp warblers (Acrocephalus rufescens), Hartlaub's babblers (Turdoides hartlaubii) and swamp boubous (Laniarius bicolor) among other tropical birds at the southern limit of their range.

The densest vegetation along riverbanks holds Pel's fishing owls (Scotopelia peli), African finfoots (Podica senegalensis) and whitebacked night herons (Gorsachius leuconotus). The African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer), another bird of prey, is often seen along the rivers. In a sense its haunting cry defines the inland waters.

The only hippopotamus (H. amphibius) in Namibia and Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) in substantial numbers are found in the Caprivi. The rivers also hold over 70 species of fish, among them tiger fish, bream and sharptooth catfish.

Prolific birdlife is attracted to the waterways and woodlands, with over 400 species recorded, a diverse mixture of wetland and passerine species. The protected areas are particularly rich, with the highest diversity in Mahango.

The swamps and floodplains provide breeding sites for waterbirds with a limited range elsewhere in southern Africa. They include the rufousbellied heron (Butorides rufiventris), saddlebilled stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis), slaty egret (Egretta vinaceigula), wattled crane (Bugeranus carunculatus) and whitecrowned plover (Vanellus albiceps).