Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve

Wildlife & Animals

Expert

By Philip Briggs

Philip is the author of the Bradt and Insight guides to South Africa.

Hluhluwe-Imfolozi is a scenic reserve and offers good wildlife viewing. All of the Big Five are present, but while white rhino, elephant and buffalo are regularly seen, big cats sightings are hit-and-miss. Giraffe and Burchell's zebra are some of the more common species found throughout the park.

ElephantCommon

GiraffeCommon

HippoCommon

BuffaloCommon

ZebraCommon

WildebeestCommon

White RhinoCommon

Black RhinoOccasional

LionOccasional

LeopardRare

CheetahOccasional

HyenaOccasional

Wild DogRare

Wildlife Highlights

The park is famous for its white rhino conservation success and has one of the largest populations in the world. Black rhino is also present in significant numbers but rarely seen. The gracious nyala is a Kwazulu-Natal special as it is very common in the province, but rare elsewhere. Lucky visitors might stumble on a pack of wild dog, and the elusive leopard is sometimes spotted on night drives.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

The best time for wildlife viewing in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi is during the dry months of June to September. The end of the Dry season, from August to September, is a particularly nice time since temperatures are higher than in mid-winter and animals are concentrated around predictable water sources at the end of a long dry period.