The Mokala National Park is home to an amazing diversity and number of animals and morning and afternoon drives exploring the Park, or time spent at the Stofdam Hide, invariably produces wonderful encounters with them. Come along as we share some of what we saw during our tour of Mokala last month.
The Black-backed Jackal is definitely Mokala’s most regularly seen carnivore and, besides regularly coming across them them as you traverse the reserve, you are very likely to hear them calling from sunset and into the night.
While they’re not considered as good looking as most other antelopes, Blue Wildebeest are always a welcome sight nevertheless!
We’ve had better sightings of Mokala’s buffaloes on this trip than on any previous visits. While it is not clear whether this is because the population is expanding or whether they’re becoming more used to tourist vehicles we’re certainly not complaining!
One the other side of the scale is the numerous kinds of butterflies that you’ll find at Mokala, even now during the cold of winter.
The Eland is by far the largest antelope and yet their very skittish nature makes it tricky and rewarding to get a photograph of them. Luckily Mokala has a sizable population of Eland, making the task a little easier.
Another antelope that is as shy as it is beautiful is the Gemsbok.
With so many thorn trees, their favourite food, and no dangerous lions around, Mokala must feel like paradise to Giraffes!
Many people consider the Greater Kudu the most regal of Africa’s antelope, and Mokala has more than its fair share of beautiful bulls!
The Meerkat – Timon of Disney’s The Lion King – really is an endearing little creature (unless you’re a chicken farmer…).
One of the animals you’ll encounter most frequently at Mokala is the Plains Zebra, and what makes Mokala’s population even more fascinating is the high number of individuals carrying relatively few stripes.
The Red Hartebeest is an antelope superbly adapted to the drier western regions of South Africa and Mokala’s animals are in excellent condition.
Mokala is an excellent place to see Roan Antelope, one of the rarest antelope species in South Africa.
Rock Dassies find Mokala’s boulder-strewn koppies perfectly to their liking.
While some will give the title to the Kudu for me it is the Sable Antelope that ought to be crowned King of Africa’s Antelope.
A quick visit by this Cape Grey Mongoose at our bungalow in Lilydale was a very welcome surprise!
One of our national sporting emblems and the country’s national animal, the Springbok is a beautiful antelope of which Mokala has a large population – an absolute delight to behold!
Of Mokala’s smaller antelope the Steenbok is the kind you’ll see most often.
Another antelope that is rather scarce in South Africa but which thrives at Mokala is the Tsessebe, also renowned as being the fastest of all the antelopes.
Vervet Monkeys are a lot of fun to watch, though at Mokala, as in many of our other reserves, you shouldn’t trust them with open doors and windows, be it on your vehicle, tent or hut!
Warthogs, with their plucky attitudes, are such lovable creatures even though they won’t win any beauty contests.
We also had several fantastic sightings of Mokala’s White Rhinos but, due to the continued threat of poaching and the locations where we saw them being easily identifiable I’m regrettably not able to show you any pictures of them in this post.
Remember that DeWetsWild can help you book a stay at Mokala National Park and I’d also be glad to escort you there on a guided tour!
DeWetsWild 
Postcards indeed! Joubert is becoming a more and more skilled photographer all the time. ☺️
Joubert’s photographic skills really are improving in leaps and bounds and I’ll pass your kind comment to him, Carol!
☺️
That’s a spectacular header photo. You must be proud of that one. Love to see the exotic butterflies too.
Thank you, kindly! The light that afternoon was beautiful and we’re lucky the Kudu bull looked so regal in it.
I am drooling!
You’re going to have a marvelous time at Mokala, Anne!
Die Pumbas bly maar van my gunstelinge, Dries. Ek stem saam, hierdie lyk inderdaad na ñ paradys vir kameelperde en bokke, so met geen leeus in sig nie.
Mokala is n juweel van n plek, Una. Regtig n besoek werd.
Dries, truly, an embarrassment of riches. What is spectacular trip that must’ve been. And speaking spectacular, how about those Blitzboks? Fantastic showing at the Olympics and my co-favorite player, Selvyn Davids, was a star!! My co-team, France, and my co-favorite player, Antoine Dupont, bring home the gold. What a fantastic day.
We were also thrilled for the French team taking the Olympic gold, Janet! They were in it heart and soul and absolutely deserved it. I knew that you were watching on the other side of the globe and also enjoying the heroics of the “come back from the dead” Blitsbokke and the hometown stars, and that made me smile from ear to ear!
It couldn’t have gone better from my POV. And in LA, I got to see Dupont play and even got a selfie with him. 😁 But the Bokke made it so much better!
Daardie meerkat wat so spoed optel is te dierbaar. Eks srem nogal saam met die Sable Antelope as ‘Koning’. Koedoes is statig en mooi maar die Sable A is nie net koninklik nie maar ook grasieus. Lekker saam diere gekyk. Vroeër jare was heelwat van bokke skugter en het mens hul nie sommer gesien nie.
By Mokala is meeste van die wild regtig so gemaklik met mense naby dat dit maklik is om hulle mooi te bekyk en fotografeer, Ineke. Regtig n fantastiese plek.
Dis wonderlik ook dat daar so baie van die nie-bekende diere te sien is.
Somehow, I did not put ‘warthog’ and ‘lovable’ together, Dries.
Is there any reason why the zebra has fewer stripes than in other locations? They are still a fascinating creature.
Poor Pumbaa will be so heartsore to hear what you think of him, Lois! 😉
You can read more about Mokala’s “pale zebras” and the Quagga Project here:
https://dewetswild.com/2018/05/09/mokalas-pale-zebras/
Thank you for the pal zebra information, Dries.
Pumbaa–I do apologize for my very insensitive remark. It’s the beauty inside that matters. And Joubert has captured you beautifully.