Garamba was established by Belgian royal decree in 1938 as one of the first national parks in Africa and was closely tied to the Elephant Domestication Centre established in 1920 at Gangala na Bodio where more than 100 elephants were trained to work in the field.
 
In the nineties it was possible to make an elephant back safari in Garamba. There were four domesticated elephants. Today just one is remaining, her name is Kiko and she is 53 years old.

Garamba was designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. It has been on the World Heritage in Danger list since 1996 due to the threats posed to the remaining rhino.

The southern part of the park is predominantly grassland savannah with scattered trees. Further north the vegetation is mainly mixed woodland, dense dry forests and riverine and small swamp forests. In contrast, the hunting areas are predominantly dense bush savannahs, mixed woodlands and forests.

Garamba is an excellent ecosystem for elephant and they are never short of food or surface water. The elephants found in the area are an inter-grade between the savannah sub species (Loxodonta africana africana) and the forest race (Loxodonta africana cyclotis). Our present estimation of the elephant population in Garamba is approximately 3,500.





Garamba is also home to the Congo giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis cottoni- or congoensis-). It is thought that the population totals at least 70 individuals.

Garamba and its surrounding hunting areas are home to a variety of other species including Guereza colobus, Patas monkey, Vervet monkey, De Brazza's monkey, Spotted hyena, Serval cat, leopard, lion, Red river hog, warthog, hippopotamus, Nile buffalo, bushbuck, waterbuck, oribi, Roan antelope, Blue duiker, Red-flanked duiker, Yellow-backed duiker, Uganda kob and Lelwel hartebeest.