Fauna

Famous for its gemsbok and black-maned lion, !Xaus is home to Kalahari mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians that have adapted to the desert.

Apart from the famous black-maned lion, predatorsto be found in the park include leopard, cheetah, hyena (brown and spotted), black-backed jackal, Cape fox, caracal and the African wild cat, among others.

The park has a rich birdlife– 264 species of birds have been recorded of which 78 are residents, 16 seasonal migrants, 18 nomads and 152 are vagrants and irregular visitors. Two-thirds of southern Africa’s raptor species can be spotted in the KTP.

The antelope of the Kalahari, from the shy steenbok to the gemsbok – synonymous with the KTP – as well as the massive eland, have all found ways to adapt and survive in these desert conditions. Enjoy seeing the large herds of springbok, as well as the solitary smaller buck that abound in the park.

A wide variety of reptiles and amphibians can also be observed in the park, among which is the yellow Cape cobra that can often be seen slithering in and out of the enormous sociable weaver nests.
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The plant kingdom

The deceptively monotonous looking Kalahari plays host to hundreds of species of flora and even after 20 years of intense research, new flowering plants are discovered each year.

The soft parallel-running sand dunes are covered with a patchy vegetation of grass, shrubs and trees that serve to stabilise the dunes and offer protection from rain and wind. The camelthorn and shepherd’s trees are a source of life within the KTP ecosystem. They provide food but most importantly they provide shade from the harsh summer sun.

The umbrella-shaped canopy of the shepherd’s tree has the effect of lowering the temperature of the sand below from a shocking 73° C to 21°C.
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