Madikwe Game Reserve

Wildlife & Animals

Expert

Philip is author of the Rough Guide to Game Parks of South Africa.

Madikwe is an excellent Big Five reserve. Lion are plentiful, but sightings of cheetah and leopard are more hit-and-miss. This is compensated, however, by good sightings of wild dog. In general, wildlife viewing might be slightly less easy than in the Greater Kruger private reserves, including Sabi Sands, but there are fewer vehicles around resulting in high-quality wildlife experiences.

ElephantAbundant

GiraffeCommon

HippoOccasional

BuffaloCommon

ZebraCommon

WildebeestCommon

White RhinoCommon

Black RhinoRare

LionCommon

LeopardOccasional

CheetahOccasional

HyenaOccasional

Wild DogOccasional

Wildlife Highlights

The dry country habitat is home to the spotted hyena as well as the rare and interesting brown hyena, not often seen in other parts of the country. Other dry country species you might encounter here include the gemsbok and eland. Aardvark, serval and caracal tend to be elusive, but are sometimes spotted on night drives.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

For wildlife viewing, the dry months of June to September are best. Although the evenings can be cold, animals gather around permanent water sources and vegetation thins, making wildlife easier to spot.