Mountain Zebra National Park
Wildlife & Animals
South Africa Parks
Philip lives in South Africa and has authored many guidebooks to African destinations, including the Rough Guide to Game Parks of South Africa.
The park's main attraction is the endangered Cape mountain zebra endemic to the Cape region of South Africa. Additional grassland animals often encountered are ostrich, red hartebeest, eland, blesbok and springbok. Chacma baboon and vervet monkey are common primates in the park. Black rhino, lion, cheetah and buffalo have been reintroduced, but sightings are hit and miss.
Wildlife Highlights
The rare black wildebeest, a real grassland special, is quite common in the park and can often be seen together with zebra. Two delightful small sociable mammals, the ground squirrel and meerkat, are commonly seen near their burrows in sandy soil. Cheetah is easily found with the cheetah-tracking activity, and leopard are present, but rarely spotted. There is a reasonable chance of seeing bat-eared fox and caracal when on an early morning game drive.
Best Time for Wildlife Viewing
The focus lies mostly on the Cape mountain zebra since the Big Five animals are absent or rarely spotted. The mountain zebra can be seen throughout the year and, because winters get very cold, the best time to visit is during the warmer summer months (October to March). Most of the Cape mountain foals are born in this period, and some social interaction might be observed.
