Ta Shebube
Mammals
The park is also famous for its large antelope herds. Quite frequently one can see hundreds of graceful springbok and blue wildebeest (gnu), red heartebeast and eland moving about grazing through the veld. Gemsbok (oryx), the large striking desert antelope is the signature animal of the park.But it is the predators that are the park’s biggest attraction. And there are excellent chances of seeing leopard, cheetah, brown and spotted hyena and the ultimate black-maned lion, all well represented. Other carnivores include the caracal, black-backed jackal, bat-eared fox and Cape fox. The endangered wild dog is also occasionally sighted.
Honey Badger, Pangolin, Aardwark and Bat-eared Fox are some of the “specials” in the park worth searching for. To this superb collection of large mammals, one can add the smaller animals, such as the ground squirrel and the mischievous suricates (meerkat), hyperactive little omnivores. Both these ground dwelling species live in large family groups for added protection and can easily be seen throughout the park. Millipedes are also a common feature of the KTP. Not to forget the rodents and the lizards such as the whistling rats and the barking geckos, which keep the desert awake in the evening with their chirping and whistling sounds.
“Despite the arid conditions, the Kgalagadi is rich in fauna of great variety and offers premium mammal viewing. About 60 species of mammal live here and the transfrontier park has built up a deserved reputation as one on the few ecosystems in Southern Africa where a variety of large predators can be maintained.”