It’s an unforgettable thrill spotting Africa’s Big Five – the lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and Cape buffalo. Give your bush credentials a wild boost and make it your mission to spot the Secret Seven.
They are shy and elusive, and their physical appearance makes spotting them quite the challenge. Put your skills to the test and make it your mission to track down South Africa’s Secret Seven.
Serval
What are you looking for? The serval is an elegant cat and telltale markings are black dots and dashes on a yellow coat. As these stealthy hunters are active from late afternoon, your best bet would be exploring after sunset. Servals are also the tallest of the smaller wild cats and sport large ears and short tails. Birds may be snatched from the air, but pouncing is also an extremely efficient hunting technique – 40-60% of pounces are successful.
Go here: Kruger National Park
Aardvark
Picture by Barry Christensen
What are you looking for? They might just be one of the most peculiar mammals roaming the bush. There’s no chance you will mistake it for something else. This one-of-a-kind creature has pale skin, a snout resembling that of a pig’s and long bunny-like ears. Other unique features include a long and thick tail, sturdy legs and long claws. These nocturnal animals feast mostly on termites and ants, and can dig an impressive tunnel in mere minutes. Did you know that their burrows can be up to six metres deep?
Go here: Addo Elephant National Park
Pangolin
What are you looking for? Wild fans, this species is unmistakable. With their unique bronze scales, ground pangolins are highly distinctive and seemingly invincible. Unfortunately, all eight pangolin species are critically endangered – it’s the most trafficked animal on the planet. Pangolins share a taste for ants and termites with aardvark. They use their sharp and curved claws to scratch open termite heaps, and their super long and sticky tongues (25-40cm) to lick up ants. They are solitary and scarce – good luck!
Go here: Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
[Video courtesy of the African Pangolin Working Group]
African wild cat
Picture by Andre Barnes
What are you looking for? They might look like your pet kitty, but they’re certainly much feistier. Tough enough to survive in the wild, the African wild cat preys on mice and doves. The Southern African wild cat can be identified by its sandy grey coat and dark markings, which make it a master of disguise. These felines are mostly active at night and early mornings and, like most cats, they stalk and pounce when hunting. Only three of the six recognised subspecies of wild cats call Africa home.
Go here: Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Porcupine
Picture by Mohammed Jinnah
What are you looking for? Those distinct black-and-white quills make Arica’s biggest rodent a force to be reckoned with. Many a leopard has learnt painful lessons. Wondering why it’s so hard to spot them? Well, they prefer heading out at night in search of vegetarian snacks like plant bulbs, roots and tubers. If ever you heard that porcupines shoot out their quills in self-defence – not true at all. It will, however, run backwards into its attacker, inflicting painful wounds. Ouch.
Go here: Karoo National Park, Kruger National Park
African civet
Picture by Gillian Leigh Soames
What are you looking for? Reminiscent of the North American raccoon, the African civet has a very special coat: each individual’s stripes, spots and blotches are particular to that animal. And with those striped tails and black bands around their eyes, you cannot help but think of them masked bandits. Civets prefer forest and dense woodlands, are solitary and can disappear into the undergrowth in a split second. If you’re dreaming of encountering the beautiful civet, make sure to get going after sunset.
Go here: Kruger National Park
Large spotted genet
What are you looking for? Be careful not to confuse the large spotted genet with a civet. Rest assured, practice makes perfect. Although both species are night dwellers, large spotted genets can be correctly identified by their longer tails and lack of bandit masks. It might look like a cat and hunt like a cat, but will ultimately kill its prey – insects and small mammals – with several bites. As they are good climbers, you might want to scan the canopy.
Go here: Garden Route National Park
In search of the Secret Seven
If you want to increase your chances of spotting the Secret Seven, a Wild Card is an unmissable part of your toolkit. With a Wild Card, you can visit more than 80 protected areas in South Africa and Swaziland. Your membership offers 365 days’ free access, a Wild magazine every quarter, bi-monthly Wild newsletter, and exclusive offers and competitions.
Which of the Secret Seven have you seen? Let us know in the comments below.
Thank you for this interesting feature on this “secret seven”.
With the exception of the Pangolin, my wife and I have been fortunate to have had sightings of all the others during night game drives in the Kruger National Park. I found it surprizing that we are three colleagues that have had sightings of the Large spotted genet in our Pretoria and Centurion gardens.
Hi Leon. The ‘old’ Large-spotted Genet has been divided into two species (both with a dark tip to the tail). And the one you saw in Pretoria is now the Rusty-spotted Genet – with more rusty brown spots and stripes. So, the Large-spotted Genet is the other one occurring along the east-coast down to the southern cape.
Please consult my field guide book: Mammal Guide of Southern Africa, published by Briza Publications (Pretoria), to spot all the differences between the two species.
Kind regards, Burger
Missing the Aardvark and Serval! Only recently saw a Pangolin in the Kruger, what a sighting that was!
Aardvark
African civet
African wild cat
large spotted genet
Porcupine
serval
The pangolin is the odd man out!
My husband and I have been fortunate to see a Serval not far from Lower Sabie and we saw an African Wild Cat near Satara. We love the park and always look out for unusual sightings and are really lucky to have seen some of the rarer animals. A long time ago we saw a Side Striped Jackal near Pretoriuskop. This was the only time that we have seen this and we go to Kruger every year.
We have also been very lucky with cheetah, seeing a kill right on the tar road about 3 km from the bridge over the Sabie river going towards Tshokwane. Even luckier was we were the only car to see it in the beginning.
We also saw a cheetah enjoying her kill close to Crocodile Bridge camp on a sand road. As we don’t drive on sand roads as we have a very small car this was really special.
Just back from Talamati in Kruger. We were lucky to see a a Serval in daylight carrying her kitten in her mouth. Also saw on our night drive a wild African cat and a civet. (Seen both of these before in Kruger). Porcupine see twice in Kruger once in a night drive and once in daylight. Aardvark on a night drive in Mountain Zebra Park. Genets in Kruger. Longing to see a Pangolin.
we were luck enough to see the African wild cat in the kgalagadi recently. Alos seen the Aard vark at night on a night drive years ago, Serval, Porcupine in our garden one night recently when he was obviously looking for bulbs and roots, civet cat but no Pangolin or large spotted
Genet, I do however consider myself among the lucky ones.
Is a Pangolin sighting just a matter of effort and luck?
I would add Caracal to that list
I hiked the Sand River Bush Camp Hike 3 months ago and save for the aardvark we spotted 6 of the big 7.
I am old enough to be able to admit that I have seen the secret seven a number of times. How privileged and lucky I feel. I have not seen the Aardvark for many a long year but it was very visible in the early sixties in the Kruger. I have also had the excitement of spotting the Genet, not sure which one, in my driveway in Riverclub, Sandton. I must admit I called a neighbour and he said I must have been drinking, only to find there were numerous genets in the trees in the home next to his.
Similar to Pamela, I have been blessed in having seen the Secret Seven many times with exception to the Pangolin which I have only seen once in the wild. ( in Kruger in 1956!)………I agree with John in adding the Caracal. but would also suggest in adding the Aardwolf which is not uncommon, but seldom seen and also the Cape Fox which likewise is not a regular sighting, but a very special animal. I think that the Bat eared fox is too regularly seen to be included……so as to make it the ”Tenacious 10” or “Ellusive Ten”’ maybe?
I’m from Australia but have visited SA 10 times since 2000 and will be back in August to Mapungubwe and KTP. Have seen all but Aardvark and Pangolin. Strangely, sightings seem to be in clumps – saw my only 3 serval on one night drive from Crocodile Bridge, my only AWC when I saw 11 on one night drive in KTP and also 2 caracal in Addo on one drive about 2km apart. Great sighting of a genet at Mapungubwe – he hung around next to our deck for about an hour.