A rich assortment of animals at Mokala

32 Replies

Just as with the birds we showed you 2 days ago, Mokala National Park has an incredible variety of four and six legged creatures on show.

The large mammals are the easiest to see and photograph. During our 4 day visit in April 2018 we recorded over 750 different sightings of 30 different kinds of mammals!

The white rhino is the biggest of the animals in Mokala. Here they are shy and elusive and we were very happy to see a few of these endangered creatures.

White rhino cow and calf
Rhino pair in Mokala National Park
White rhino cow with almost fully grown calf
Impressive white rhino bull
Angry white rhino cow defending her calf

Remember those mud-loving buffaloes we showed you a few days ago? Well that wasn’t our only encounter with Mokala’s growing population of African buffalo and we were very fortunate to come across several more herds and a few loners while exploring the Park.

Muddy old Dagga Boy
Big buffalo bull slaking his thirst
We’ve no clue what this buffalo cow tried to tell us.
Buffalo bull soaking in the first rays of the sun

Mokala’s giraffes are shown off to great effect in the open landscape dotted with their favourite Camel Thorn and Umbrella Thorn trees.

Giraffes in Mokala National Park
Close-up of a stately giraffe bull
Giraffe family in Mokala National Park
Giraffe in Mokala National Park
Young giraffe in Mokala National Park

Mokala is certainly one of the reserves with the greatest variety of antelope in South Africa, many of which are rare in other national parks. Amongst others we managed to see black and blue wildebeest, blesbok, eland, gemsbok, grey duiker, impala, kudu, mountain reedbuck, red hartebeest, steenbok, waterbuck, tsessebe, sable and roan antelope.

Black wildebeest
Blue wildebeest
Blue wildebeest
Eland
Eland
Eland
Gemsbok
Gemsbok
Gemsbok at Mokala National Park, April 2018
Gemsbok
Gemsbok
Impala
Impala
Impala
Kudu
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Roan antelope
Roan antelope
Sable antelope
Steenbok
Tsessebe
Tsessebe
Waterbuck

Not forgetting that we’ve already shown you loads of photos of Mokala’s springbok and plains zebras.

Springbok rams contesting a territory in Mokala National Park
Pale-rumped Plains Zebra in Mokala National Park

Mokala also has a wide variety of smaller mammals that are easier to overlook; Baboons and vervet monkeys, ground squirrels, warthogs, meerkats and yellow mongooses all crossed our path from time to time.

Baboon sharing a hill with a gemsbok
Southern African Ground Squirrel
Southern African Ground Squirrel
Meerkat
Vervet monkeys
Vervet monkeys
Warthog
Warthog
Yellow mongooses

Mokala’s insects, amphibians and reptiles make you work harder for sightings of them, but for those who go to the effort there’s an astonishing variety of less conspicuous creatures waiting to entertain and enthrall!

This immature Western Olive Toad emerged after the thunderstorm
Two-spotted Ground Beetle
Southern Rock Agama
Marsh Terrapins
Leopard Tortoise

If you’d like to learn more about Mokala National Park, why not have a read through the detailed post we did about the Park in 2016.

32 thoughts on “A rich assortment of animals at Mokala”

  1. Beth

    I enjoy coming back to your site over and over–seeing the animals in their natural habitat.

    Now, consider this and see a totally different approach to animal life, culture, value–whatever else: (hyperlink removed)

    I am not vegetarian, but with pictures like this, I might become one. Other than this particular section, I like studying about the Chinese culture.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
    1. de Wets Wild Post author

      I’m glad to know that you like visiting de Wets Wild, Beth – thank you very much for that, your participation means a lot to us!
      But if you don’t mind I am going to edit the link to those very upsetting photos out of this comment. I wouldn’t want anyone, especially children, enjoying this particular post suddenly finding themselves in a horrible juxtaposition 😉

      Like

      Reply ↓
      1. Beth

        I agree! I thought about that after I posted it and wondered if there were a way to delete what I posted.

        Like

    1. de Wets Wild Post author

      Dankie, Dina! Mokala is in 2007 geproklameer na Vaalbos Nasionale Park in n grondeis tot niet gemaak is. Myns insiens was dit n baie goeie skuif; ek het Vaalbos een maal besoek en moet erken die tekens van diamantdelwerye deur die park versprei het my nie beindruk nie. Mokala is grootliks ongeskonde en baie besonders!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓
  4. kim blades, writer

    Definitely paradise! The giraffe are so graceful for such large animals. It’s wonderful to see photos of the rarer antelope as well as the more common and also I love it that you take the time to look for and photograph the insects and small creatures!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
    1. de Wets Wild Post author

      We just can’t sit still while on holiday in our beautiful wild places, Kim, so we often come across the smaller creatures while walking around, and find that the small fry can be just as fascinating, if not more so, than the bigger creatures.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓
  13. John

    Amazing pictures you have taken, from the largest to the smallest animals.😊 I’m always so impressed when I see Kudu’s horn, not often I see that nice animal on any tv show.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓
    1. de Wets Wild Post author

      Thanks, John! I wonder why it is that an animal as spectacular as the kudu (especially the adult bulls) doesn’t often feature in wildlife documentaries? When you come to South Africa you can enjoy them to your heart’s content!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

Please don't leave without sharing your thoughts?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.