African Wild Cat

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the African Wild Cat at stays in or beside uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, Chelmsford Nature Reserve (Ntshingwayo Dam), Giants Castle Game Reserve, Ithala Game Reserve and Kamberg Nature Reserve and other reserves. A record means a host has seen it on the property or nearby, which makes these the places to base yourself; it is never a guarantee of a sighting on any given day.

The African Wild Cat is most recorded in Northern Cape (36% of records), Mpumalanga (24% of records), Western Cape (22% of records), based on 498 iNaturalist observations. 17 places to stay on Spekboom in KwaZulu-Natal have recorded the African Wild Cat on site or nearby.

The African Wild Cat is recorded throughout the year, so no month is the wrong month to look for it. For the parks where hosts record it most, these are the best seasons they give. uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park: year-round, dry season May-Sep; Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park: year-round, dry season May-Sep; Chelmsford Nature Reserve (Ntshingwayo Dam): year-round; Giants Castle Game Reserve: year-round, dry season May-Sep. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

The African Wild Cat (Felis lybica) is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

The African wildcat (Felis lybica), also called Near Eastern wildcat is a wildcat species that lives in Northern Africa, the Near East and around the periphery of the Arabian Peninsula. The status Least Concern on the IUCN Red List is attributed to the species, including all subspecies of wildcats.