Home to the Big Five
And to the Super Seven — cheetah and wild dog as well
Madikwe is home to 66 mammal species including the Big Five, and approximately 300 resident and migrant bird species. It is one of South Africa's largest game reserves.
Alongside lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino, Madikwe carries healthy populations of cheetah and African wild dog — together the Big Five and these two make up what guides here call the Super Seven.
Beyond the headline species you can expect brown hyena, sable, eland, gemsbok, giraffe, and a great deal of plains game across the open grassland between the Dwarsberg mountains and the Marico River.
Madikwe represents an extension of a conservation philosophy in that the reserve is run as a joint venture between the State, the private sector and local communities. The success of this approach has made Madikwe the role model for similar ventures being started up elsewhere in South Africa.
