Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

🇿🇦 South Africa

🦁 Lion Roams Kgalagadi's Vast Dunes

🌍 #68 Global · 4.3 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ #30 in Africa #3 in Desert & Scrub

Southern Africa, South Africa 629 spp. recorded

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a desert and dry‑scrub reserve that straddles the border of South Africa and Botswana. The landscape is a mosaic of red sand dunes, sparse grasslands and occasional rocky outcrops, offering open horizons that contrast sharply with nearby savanna parks.

-25.746° S 20.335° E

Wildlife

⭐ Iconic Species

Lion

Panthera leo

50–60% · Likely

Gemsbok

Oryx gazella

50–60% · Likely

Common Ostrich

Struthio camelus

70–80% · Very likely

📊 Most Spotted

Fork-tailed Drongo

Dicrurus adsimilis

80–90% · Very likely

Cape Turtle Dove

Streptopelia capicola

70–80% · Very likely

White-browed Sparrow-Weaver

Plocepasser mahali

70–80% · Very likely

Social Weaver

Philetairus socius

60–70% · Likely

Pale Chanting Goshawk

Melierax canorus

60–70% · Likely

Red-shouldered Glossy-starling

Lamprotornis nitens

60–70% · Likely

Crimson-breasted Gonolek

Laniarius atrococcineus

50–60% · Likely

Mariqua Flycatcher

Bradornis mariquensis

50–60% · Likely

Tawny Eagle

Aquila rapax

50–60% · Likely

Scaly Weaver

Sporopipes squamifrons

50–60% · Likely

Kori Bustard

Ardeotis kori

50–60% · Likely

Lanner Falcon

Falco biarmicus

50–60% · Likely

⭐ Iconic Species

Lion

Panthera leo

50–60% · Likely

Gemsbok

Oryx gazella

50–60% · Likely

📊 Most Spotted

Blue Wildebeest

Connochaetes taurinus

50–60% · Likely

Springbok

Antidorcas marsupialis

40–50% · Likely

Cape Ground Squirrel

Xerus inauris

40–50% · Likely

Yellow Mongoose

Cynictis penicillata

40–50% · Likely

Steenbok

Raphicerus campestris

40–50% · Likely

Khama

Alcelaphus caama

40–50% · Likely

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

40–50% · Likely

Slender-tailed Meerkat

Suricata suricatta

40–50% · Likely

Southern Giraffe

Giraffa giraffa

30–40% · Possible

Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse

Rhabdomys pumilio

30–40% · Possible

Greater Kudu

Tragelaphus strepsiceros

30–40% · Possible

Bat-eared Fox

Otocyon megalotis

20–30% · Possible

⭐ Iconic Species

Common Ostrich

Struthio camelus

70–80% · Very likely

📊 Most Spotted

Fork-tailed Drongo

Dicrurus adsimilis

80–90% · Very likely

Cape Turtle Dove

Streptopelia capicola

70–80% · Very likely

White-browed Sparrow-Weaver

Plocepasser mahali

70–80% · Very likely

Social Weaver

Philetairus socius

60–70% · Likely

Pale Chanting Goshawk

Melierax canorus

60–70% · Likely

Red-shouldered Glossy-starling

Lamprotornis nitens

60–70% · Likely

Crimson-breasted Gonolek

Laniarius atrococcineus

50–60% · Likely

Mariqua Flycatcher

Bradornis mariquensis

50–60% · Likely

Tawny Eagle

Aquila rapax

50–60% · Likely

Scaly Weaver

Sporopipes squamifrons

50–60% · Likely

Kori Bustard

Ardeotis kori

50–60% · Likely

Lanner Falcon

Falco biarmicus

50–60% · Likely

📊 Most Spotted

Karasburg Tree Skink

Trachylepis sparsa

40–50% · Likely

Ground Agama

Agama aculeata

30–40% · Possible

Leopard Tortoise

Stigmochelys pardalis

30–40% · Possible

Cape Cobra

Naja nivea

30–40% · Possible

Bibron's Thick-toed Gecko

Chondrodactylus bibronii

20–30% · Possible

Mole Snake

Pseudaspis cana

20–30% · Possible

Puff Adder

Bitis arietans

20–30% · Possible

Common Barking Gecko

Ptenopus garrulus

10–20% · Possible

Western three-striped skink

Trachylepis occidentalis

10–20% · With luck

Spotted Sand Lizard

Pedioplanis lineoocellata

10–20% · With luck

Namaqua Sand Lizard

Pedioplanis namaquensis

10–20% · With luck

Kalahari Tree Skink

Trachylepis spilogaster

10–20% · With luck

📊 Most Spotted

Tandy's sand frog

Tomopterna tandyi

Insufficient data

Animal Events

🦌

Lion Pride Activity

JanFeb

Male lions with distinctive black manes patrol territories and display roaring contests during the dry season.

Lion

Panthera leo

50–60% · Likely

🦌

Gemsbok Rut

FebSep

Gemsbok engage in intense rutting battles, making males conspicuous as they clash for breeding rights.

Gemsbok

Oryx gazella

50–60% · Likely

🐦

White-backed Vulture Roosting

SepOct

Large roosts of white-backed vultures gather on cliffs to feed on carrion during the late dry season.

White-backed Vulture

Gyps africanus

40–50% · Likely

Sighting Calendar

Chance of spotting each species, month by month

Species Total

60–70

60–70

50–60

60–70

50–60

60–70

60–70

60–70

70–80

60–70

70–80

60–70

60–70

70–80

50–60

50–60

50–60

60–70

30–40

50–60

60–70

50–60

40–50

50–60

40–50

70–80

60–70

60–70

50–60

50–60

50–60

60–70

70–80

50–60

50–60

50–60

60–70

70–80

60–70

70–80

60–70

80–90

60–70

60–70

70–80

60–70

70–80

70–80

Fork-tailed Drongo

80–90

80–90

80–90

80–90

70–80

70–80

80–90

70–80

90–100

70–80

90–100

70–80

Cape Turtle Dove

60–70

80–90

50–60

80–90

60–70

80–90

70–80

70–80

80–90

80–90

80–90

60–70

White-browed Sparrow-Weaver

60–70

70–80

50–60

70–80

60–70

70–80

70–80

60–70

70–80

80–90

80–90

60–70

70–80

70–80

40–50

50–60

50–60

70–80

50–60

40–50

70–80

60–70

80–90

70–80

Pale Chanting Goshawk

60–70

70–80

60–70

60–70

60–70

70–80

50–60

50–60

70–80

50–60

50–60

50–60

Red-shouldered Glossy-starling

60–70

50–60

30–40

60–70

60–70

70–80

70–80

50–60

70–80

70–80

60–70

50–60

Crimson-breasted Gonolek

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

70–80

60–70

60–70

50–60

60–70

60–70

Mariqua Flycatcher

60–70

40–50

20–30

40–50

50–60

60–70

60–70

60–70

70–80

40–50

70–80

50–60

60–70

50–60

50–60

40–50

40–50

50–60

40–50

40–50

70–80

50–60

60–70

60–70

40–50

30–40

30–40

40–50

50–60

40–50

50–60

50–60

70–80

50–60

70–80

60–70

60–70

60–70

40–50

60–70

40–50

60–70

30–40

50–60

50–60

50–60

60–70

60–70

50–60

70–80

60–70

50–60

50–60

40–50

50–60

50–60

50–60

30–40

60–70

50–60

Animal Events

🦌 Lion Pride Activity

🦌 Gemsbok Rut

🐦 White-backed Vulture Roosting

Sighting Zones

Warm areas are where all species together are recorded most, so they track where people go as much as where animals are. For one species, see the map on its own page.

0.0 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ Excellent

🦁 Lion Roams Kgalagadi's Vast Dunes

🦜

Biodiversity

Very good

How rich is the wildlife?

4.3 Global avg

4.5 ★★★★★ ★★★★★

Species by taxon

🦅 Birds

441

🐒 Mammals

96

🦎 Reptiles

83

🐸 Amphibians

9

629 Total Species

841 Global average across 280 parks

28 Threatened 13 Endemic

🔭

Sighting

Excellent

How likely to see animals?

3.6 Global avg

4.3 ★★★★★ ★★★★★

🎯

Top-12 Avg Probability

62% Global avg

65%

📊

Coverage (154 species at ≥5% of 629 in the inventory)

24% Global avg

24%

🔀

Taxon variety in top 12 (10 bird, 2 mammal)

47% Global avg

37%

🔭

Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)

132 Global avg

98

🌟

Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)

14 Global avg

25

⭐

High-prob species (>40%)

26 Global avg

33

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