Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary

Wildlife & Animals

Expert

Alan researched and wrote about Swaziland for Lonely Planet.

The small size of Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary doesn’t support many big safari animals. Wildlife to be seen include hippo, crocodile, Burchell’s zebra, blue wildebeest, kudu, nyala, bushbuck, impala, blesbok, reedbuck, warthog, grey duiker and three species of mongoose. Seldom seen but present are some nocturnal species such as leopard, aardvark, genet, porcupine, honey badger and civet.

ElephantNone

GiraffeNone

HippoCommon

BuffaloNone

ZebraCommon

WildebeestCommon

White RhinoNone

Black RhinoNone

LionNone

LeopardVery Rare

CheetahNone

HyenaNone

Wild DogNone

Wildlife Highlights

Mlilwane Hill has been fenced off for the breeding of locally rare and threatened species. These include roan antelope, oribi, red hartebeest and grey rhebok. This area is not accessible to self-drive visitors. Some other interesting small antelope species include the rare suni, as well as blue and red duiker. Klipspringer are often found in pairs on Reilly’s Rock and greater galago are regular visitors at Reilly’s Rock hilltop lodge.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

Mlilwane is not a prime wildlife viewing destination. The reserve is very small and some of the key species are kept in an enclosure, making it easy to find the animals. The dry months of June to September are the ideal time to see some of the smaller creatures as the bush is thinner. August to September is recommended as temperatures are pleasant and the animals are found milling around water sources, making for excellent wildlife watching.