WorldWildMapWildlife atlas

South Africa

Goegap Nature Reserve, South Africa
Goegap Nature Reserve. Photo: Winfried Bruenken ( Amrum ), CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.

What is recorded in South Africa

Species
8,389
Grid cells
120,146
Records
25,355,654
Years covered
1980-2026
  • Insects 5,735
  • Bony fish 1,087
  • Birds 804
  • Reptiles 352
  • Mammals 186
  • Amphibians 130
  • Sharks and rays 92
  • Chimaeras 3

These are species with at least one recorded territory in South Africa, not a national checklist: a bird list from eBird or Avibase is more complete. The counts follow recording effort as much as wildlife, so a country with more visitors and more naturalists will show more of both.

Most recorded here

The species with the most open occurrence records in South Africa, among those a photograph exists for. Most recorded is not most numerous: it rewards animals that are common, conspicuous and live where people go.

Hadada Ibis
bird
Not assessed · location generalised

Hadada Ibis

Bostrychia hagedash

329,714 records
Southern Masked Weaver
bird
Not assessed · location generalised

Southern Masked Weaver

Ploceus velatus

306,578 records
Cape Wagtail
bird
Not assessed · location generalised

Cape Wagtail

Motacilla capensis

300,140 records
Ring-necked Dove
bird
Not assessed · location generalised

Ring-necked Dove

Streptopelia capicola

279,061 records
Red-eyed Dove
bird
Not assessed · location generalised

Red-eyed Dove

Streptopelia semitorquata

273,611 records
Common Bulbul
bird
Not assessed · location generalised

Common Bulbul

Pycnonotus barbatus

268,764 records
Red-billed Quelea
bird
Not assessed · location generalised

Red-billed Quelea

Quelea quelea

266,523 records
Common Fiscal
bird
Not assessed · location generalised

Common Fiscal

Lanius collaris

265,991 records
Southern Red Bishop
bird
Not assessed · location generalised

Southern Red Bishop

Euplectes orix

260,197 records
Cape Sparrow
bird
Not assessed · location generalised

Cape Sparrow

Passer melanurus

253,797 records
Blacksmith Lapwing
bird
Not assessed · location generalised

Blacksmith Lapwing

Vanellus armatus

253,441 records
Laughing Dove
bird
Not assessed · location generalised

Laughing Dove

Spilopelia senegalensis

242,600 records
Regions and parks
Photo: Josep M. Gracia
park

Addo Elephant National Park

-33.37°, 25.57°

Photo: Christian Wörtz ( woertz )
park

Augrabies Falls National Park

-28.54°, 20.17°

Photo: Vaiz Ha
park

Garden Route National Park

-33.94°, 23.44°

Photo: Pavel Špindler
park

Golden Gate Highlands National Park

-28.49°, 28.66°

Photo: Wegmann
park

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park

-28.26°, 31.91°

Photo: Rialfver at Dutch Wikipedia
park

iSimangaliso Wetland Park

-27.83°, 32.48°

Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel ( www.mikepeel.net ).
park

Karoo National Park

-32.25°, 22.30°

Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE
park

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

-25.30°, 20.85°

Photo: lumoplank
park

Kruger National Park

-24.01°, 31.48°

Photo: South African Tourism from South Africa
reserve

Madikwe Game Reserve

-24.76°, 26.31°

No photograph yet
park

Mapungubwe National Park

-22.23°, 29.33°

Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE
park

Mountain Zebra National Park

-32.20°, 25.40°

Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE
park

Pilanesberg National Park

-25.24°, 27.08°

Photo: Rosino
park

Table Mountain National Park

-34.14°, 18.41°

Photo: Diriye Amey from Locarno, Switzerland
park

uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park

-29.37°, 29.39°

Photo: S Molteno
park

West Coast National Park

-33.17°, 18.15°

In the field guide

Nothing written up here yet

The field guide covers South Africa on the map, but none of its species have an entry written for them yet.