Madikwe Mammal Checklist

Every mammal recorded in the Madikwe Game Reserve, from the Big Five down to the shrews and bats. Tick them off as you go.

91 entries · tick boxes are included, so you can print it and take it on a drive.

Filter this list 91 entries

	Common name	Scientific name	Notes
Big Five
	African Buffalo	Syncerus caffer	Large breeding herds plus solitary old bulls. Status: Least Concern. Where: near water year-round.
	African Elephant	Loxodonta africana	Reintroduced during Operation Phoenix and now well above the reserve’s carrying capacity. Status: Endangered. Where: everywhere, concentrating on the waterholes through the dry winter.
	Black Rhinoceros	Diceros bicornis	Hook-lipped browser, solitary and short-tempered. Madikwe holds one of the more important populations in South Africa. Status: Critically Endangered. Where: dense thicket and hill slopes.
	Leopard	Panthera pardus	Solitary and largely nocturnal, the hardest of the five to find. Status: Vulnerable. Where: rocky outcrops, the Dwarsberg foothills and riverine bush.
	Lion	Panthera leo	Several prides across the reserve. Status: Vulnerable. Where: anywhere; road verges at dawn in winter.
	White Rhinoceros	Ceratotherium simum	Square-lipped grazer of the open plains, usually in small family groups. Status: Near Threatened. Where: open grassland, early morning.
Large carnivores
	African Wild Dog	Lycaon pictus	Madikwe is one of the flagship reserves for wild dog conservation in South Africa. Status: Endangered. Where: wide-ranging; best chance on an early morning drive.
	Brown Hyaena	Parahyaena brunnea	Shaggy, solitary and strictly nocturnal, and more common here than in most reserves. Status: Near Threatened. Where: night drives.
	Cheetah	Acinonyx jubatus	Diurnal hunter of open country. Status: Vulnerable. Where: the open plains, mid-morning.
	Spotted Hyaena	Crocuta crocuta	Clan-living hunter and scavenger. Status: Least Concern. Where: heard at night more often than seen.
Small carnivores
	Aardwolf	Proteles cristatus	Termite specialist, striped like a small hyaena. Status: Least Concern. Where: nocturnal, open plains.
	African Civet	Civettictis civetta	Heavy-bodied, blotched nocturnal omnivore that follows roads and tracks. Status: Least Concern.
	African Wild Cat	Felis lybica	Ancestor of the domestic cat; look for the rich rufous backs to the ears. Status: Least Concern. Where: nocturnal, in open woodland.
	Banded Mongoose	Mungos mungo	Noisy diurnal troops of twenty or more. Status: Least Concern.
	Bat-eared Fox	Otocyon megalotis	Insectivore that locates harvester termites by ear. Status: Least Concern. Where: short grass and open sandy ground.
	Black-backed Jackal	Lupulella mesomelas	Common and vocal; the rising wail is one of the standard bushveld night sounds. Status: Least Concern.
	Cape Clawless Otter	Aonyx capensis	Status: Near Threatened. Where: the Marico River and the larger dams.
	Caracal	Caracal caracal	Tufted-eared cat that takes prey up to small antelope size. Status: Least Concern. Where: rocky and scrubby ground, nocturnal.
	Dwarf Mongoose	Helogale parvula	The smallest carnivore in Africa; lives in old termite mounds. Status: Least Concern.
	Honey Badger	Mellivora capensis	Fearless and famously destructive. Status: Least Concern. Where: wide-ranging, mostly nocturnal.
	Rusty-spotted Genet	Genetta maculata	Also called the large-spotted genet. Status: Least Concern. Where: riverine trees at night, often around lodge lights.
	Selous's Mongoose	Paracynictis selousi	Nocturnal, white-tipped tail, seldom seen. Status: Least Concern.
	Serval	Leptailurus serval	Long-legged, large-eared cat of tall grass and wetland edges. Status: Least Concern. Where: near water at dusk.
	Slender Mongoose	Herpestes sanguineus	Solitary and diurnal, with a black-tipped tail carried up when running. Status: Least Concern.
	Small-spotted Genet	Genetta genetta	Paler, with a white-tipped tail. Status: Least Concern.
	Striped Polecat	Ictonyx striatus	Black and white, and chemically defended. Status: Least Concern. Where: nocturnal.
	Striped Weasel	Poecilogale albinucha	Slender rodent-hunter, rarely seen. Status: Least Concern.
	Yellow Mongoose	Cynictis penicillata	Diurnal, often sharing ground-squirrel burrows. Status: Least Concern.
Antelope
	Blue Wildebeest	Connochaetes taurinus	Status: Least Concern. Where: open plains, often with zebra.
	Bushbuck	Tragelaphus sylvaticus	Solitary and secretive. Status: Least Concern. Where: riverine thicket along the Marico.
	Common Duiker	Sylvicapra grimmia	Also called the grey or bush duiker; a browser that runs with a ducking, jinking gait. Status: Least Concern.
	Common Reedbuck	Redunca arundinum	Status: Least Concern. Where: tall grass near water and the seasonal wetlands.
	Eland	Taurotragus oryx	The largest antelope in Africa. Status: Least Concern. Where: open plains and light woodland.
	Gemsbok	Oryx gazella	A Kalahari species at the eastern edge of its range here. Status: Least Concern. Where: the open, sandy western sections.
	Greater Kudu	Tragelaphus strepsiceros	Spiral-horned browser of thick bush. Status: Least Concern.
	Impala	Aepyceros melampus	The most numerous antelope in the reserve and the mainstay of the predator diet. Status: Least Concern.
	Klipspringer	Oreotragus oreotragus	Walks on the tips of its hooves. Status: Least Concern. Where: rocky koppies and the Dwarsberg scree.
	Mountain Reedbuck	Redunca fulvorufula	Status: Endangered in South Africa. Where: the grassy slopes of the Dwarsberg and the Tshwene-Tshwene hills.
	Red Hartebeest	Alcelaphus buselaphus caama	High-shouldered, with lyre-shaped horns. Status: Least Concern.
	Sable Antelope	Hippotragus niger	Scimitar-horned and strikingly marked. Status: Least Concern. Where: taller grass in open woodland.
	Springbok	Antidorcas marsupialis	Status: Least Concern. Where: the short-grass plains in the drier west.
	Steenbok	Raphicerus campestris	Small, ginger, and usually alone. Status: Least Concern.
	Tsessebe	Damaliscus lunatus lunatus	The fastest antelope in southern Africa. Status: Endangered in South Africa.
	Waterbuck	Kobus ellipsiprymnus	White ring on the rump; never far from water. Status: Least Concern.
Other large herbivores
	Burchell's Plains Zebra	Equus quagga burchellii	Status: Least Concern. Where: open plains, usually with wildebeest.
	Bushpig	Potamochoerus larvatus	Nocturnal and rarely seen. Status: Least Concern. Where: riverine thicket.
	Giraffe	Giraffa camelopardalis	Status: Vulnerable. Where: acacia and combretum woodland.
	Hippopotamus	Hippopotamus amphibius	Status: Vulnerable. Where: the Marico River and the deeper dams.
	Warthog	Phacochoerus africanus	Status: Least Concern. Where: everywhere; kneels on its wrists to graze.
Primates
	Chacma Baboon	Papio ursinus	Status: Least Concern. Where: rocky hills and riverine woodland.
	Lesser Bushbaby	Galago moholi	Status: Least Concern. Where: acacia woodland at night. Listen for the shrill call and watch for eyeshine.
	Vervet Monkey	Chlorocebus pygerythrus	Status: Least Concern. Where: riverine trees and around the lodges.
Other mammals
	Aardvark	Orycteropus afer	Also called the antbear. Status: Least Concern. Where: strictly nocturnal; the burrows are far easier to find than the animal.
	Cape Porcupine	Hystrix africaeaustralis	Status: Least Concern. Where: nocturnal; quills are often found lying on the roads.
	Common Molerat	Cryptomys hottentotus	Status: Least Concern. Where: the fresh soil heaps are the only sign you are likely to get.
	Ground Pangolin	Smutsia temminckii	Scaled, nocturnal, and the most trafficked mammal in the world. Status: Vulnerable. Where: an exceptional sighting.
	Jameson's Red Rock Rabbit	Pronolagus randensis	Status: Least Concern. Where: rocky koppies at night.
	Rock Hyrax	Procavia capensis	The dassie, and the elephant’s closest living relative. Status: Least Concern. Where: rocky outcrops.
	Scrub Hare	Lepus saxatilis	Status: Least Concern. Where: the commonest hare on night drives.
	South African Ground Squirrel	Xerus inauris	Uses its tail as a parasol. Status: Least Concern. Where: open sandy ground in the west.
	South African Hedgehog	Atelerix frontalis	Status: Near Threatened.
	Springhare	Pedetes capensis	Kangaroo-like nocturnal rodent of sandy ground. Status: Least Concern.
	Tree Squirrel	Paraxerus cepapi	Status: Least Concern. Where: acacia and mopane woodland; scolds from the trunk.
	Woodland Dormouse	Graphiurus murinus	Status: Least Concern.
Rodents & insectivores
	Acacia Tree Rat	Thallomys paedulcus	Status: Least Concern. Where: nests in hollow acacia branches.
	Angoni Vlei Rat	Otomys angoniensis	Status: Least Concern. Where: damp grassland.
	Bushveld Gerbil	Gerbilliscus leucogaster	Status: Least Concern.
	Fat Mouse	Steatomys pratensis	Status: Least Concern.
	Four-striped Grass Mouse	Rhabdomys pumilio	Status: Least Concern. Where: diurnal, in the grass alongside the roads.
	Grey Climbing Mouse	Dendromus melanotis	Status: Least Concern.
	Hairy-footed Gerbil	Gerbillurus paeba	Status: Least Concern. Where: Kalahari sands.
	Highveld Gerbil	Gerbilliscus brantsii	Status: Least Concern.
	House Rat	Rattus rattus	Introduced. Status: Least Concern.
	Lesser Red Musk Shrew	Crocidura hirta	Status: Least Concern.
	Multimammate Mouse	Mastomys coucha	Status: Least Concern.
	Namaqua Rock Mouse	Micaelamys namaquensis	Status: Least Concern. Where: rocky outcrops.
	Pouched Mouse	Saccostomus campestris	Status: Least Concern.
	Red Veld Rat	Aethomys chrysophilus	Status: Least Concern.
	Short-snouted Elephant Shrew	Elephantulus brachyrhynchus	Status: Least Concern.
	Single-striped Grass Mouse	Lemniscomys rosalia	Status: Least Concern.
	Spiny Mouse	Acomys spinosissimus	Status: Least Concern.
	Swamp Musk Shrew	Crocidura mariquensis	Status: Least Concern.
Bats
	Cape Serotine Bat	Neoromicia capensis	Status: Least Concern.
	Common Slit-faced Bat	Nycteris thebaica	Status: Least Concern. Where: roosts in caves, culverts and old buildings.
	Egyptian Free-tailed Bat	Tadarida aegyptiaca	Status: Least Concern.
	Geoffroy's Horseshoe Bat	Rhinolophus clivosus	Status: Least Concern.
	Schreibers' Long-fingered Bat	Miniopterus natalensis	Status: Least Concern.
	Short-eared Trident Bat	Cloeotis percivali	Status: Vulnerable.
	Straw-coloured Fruit Bat	Eidolon helvum	Status: Least Concern. Where: a seasonal visitor.
	Sundevall's Leaf-nosed Bat	Hipposideros caffer	Status: Least Concern.
	Yellow House Bat	Scotophilus dinganii	Status: Least Concern. Where: roof spaces, including at the lodges.