Botlierskop is a well stocked, free roaming private game reserve, which gives visitors the opportunity to view African wildlife from the safety of 4x4 vehicles, in its natural habitat.

Rhino's, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, eland, bontebuck and 26 more species of animals make up a total of more than 1800 animals.

LARGE MAMMALS SPECIES AT BOTLIERSKOP


There are currently 26 animals species on Botlierskop Private Game Reserve and more than 1800 animals in total on the 3000ha reserve.

Blouwildebees – Blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus)
These grazers prefer open plains with short grass, but also make use of tree veld. Water is a necessity for these animals. Although wildebeest have a low economic value, they have an important function in the natural system. About 90% of ticks that bite them are made sterile and thus they prevent tick populations from becoming a problem.

Buffel –Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer)
Buffalo are very large ox-like animals. They are generally placid but are known to be one of the most dangerous animals to hunt in Africa. Botlierskop Game Farm has 15 of the rare disease free buffaloes. Buffalo is one of the big 5 and has a reputation as dangerous animal, especially solitary males. They weigh about 750 kg and can reach speeds of up to 50 km per hour. Large gregarious herds are formed in open savanna with permanent water.

Disease free buffalo are valuable and veterinary practises are in place to prevent diseased buffalo from getting into disease free areas.

Although they are curious animals are they only active in the early evening, nights and mornings and repose throughout the hottest part of the day in the shade.

Eland – Eland (Taurotragus oryx) Livingstons
These are Africa’s largest antelope with males weighting over 700kg. They have the distinctive “klik”-sound when they walk and are good jumpers. They can jump with ease over a 2 meter fence. They are mixed feeders, depending on the season, and they need never drink as they get enough moisture from their food.

Kaapse bergkwagga – Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra)
Their striking black and white stripes, have made them easy to recognise and impossible to forget. Each individual has a distinct pattern. Many believe their stripes are a form of camouflage, while others believe it is form of identification amongst zebras. This smaller cousin of the Burchell Zebra is still protected. Only 90 survived the population’s rapid decline in the past due to competition with domestic livestock for grazing, as well as the value of their hides, which were used for making grain bags. The long gestation of 360 days does not help the breeding program. They don’t seek shelter during the warm parts of the day but enough water is necessary. Young eat a certain amount of the adults dung for the needed micro-organism contents.

Kameelperd – Girrafe (Giraffa camelopardalis)
The species name “camelopardalis” refers to the size of the camel and the dotted pattern of the leopard. “Giraffe”, comes from the Arabian word “xirapha” meaning fast walking. The Afrikaans “kameelperd” refers to the camel and the galloping of a horse. Giraffes move about 3-6 km per day. They drink water when it is available, but it is not dependent on it. The social structure is not very strong, and bulls travel from herd to herd.

Leeu – Lion (Panthera leo)
During the day they rest in the shade and are very lazy to move around. Lions are known to sleep up to 20 hours per day. They hunt their prey in the evening when it’s cooler. If there is a solitary new born cub, the female may abandon it. She will become pregnant quicker and hopefully give birth to more cubs. The gestation is only 110 days (3,5 months). Wildebeest seem to be their favourite source of food..

Rooibok – Impala (Aepyceros melampus malampus)
All over Africa you can find them in abundance. But the Black Impala, which you can find at Botlierskop and lately at a very few other places in the world, is extremely rare and rather the lobster of the bush. Botlierskop has over 150 Black Impalas and more Red Impalas. They form big breeding herds of up to 100, but normally are in the region of 20. Their biggest enemies are predators like lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, spotted hyena and crocodile. The black impala that are present on the farm are origanally from a recessive gene that gives the buck the black colour. They drink about 2 lt water per day.

Witrenoster – White rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum)
There is no real colour difference between the two rhinos. The name of the white rhino is originally from the word “wide” – detected from the shape of its mouth. The black rhino has a hooked lip and is a browser. The white rhino is the bigger of the two but is not as aggressive as the black one. The white rhino calf walks in front of it's mother, whilst the black rhino calf walks behind it's mother. Their eyesight is poor but have an excellent  senses of smell and hearing. Horn is made of keratin, the same material our hair and nails are made of. It continuously grows and is shaped due to rubbing against trees and rocks and can reach a size of 95 cm. The rhino can run very fast and can also turn around at a high speed, despite having a weight of 2000kg.

Other animals to see include:
Bontebok – Bontebok
Bosbok – Cape Bushbuck
Gewone duiker – Common (grey) duiker
Grysbok – Cape Grysbok
Ratel - Honey badger
Klipdassie – Rock Hyrax
Koedoe – Kudu
Njala – Nyala
Ystervak - Porcupine
Waterbok – Waterbuck
Steenbok