Circellium bacchus
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The flightless dung beetle (Circellium bacchus) is a species of dung beetle endemic to a few areas of South Africa, including the Addo Elephant National Park, Amakhala Game Reserve and the Buffalo Valley Game Farm. It is the only species in the genus Circellium. The loss of flight allows the beetle to use the empty space below the elytra as a carbon dioxide storage tank, creating a unique breathing mechanism which conserves water, a valuable survival trait in the arid regions it lives in.
The species was originally widespread in Southern Africa, but it only survives in the few areas mentioned above; as such, it qualifies as an IUCN vulnerable species. Its vulnerability is exacerbated by a number of other factors, including the fact that its habitat is under threat by agriculture and human activity, that it has low breeding capacity as well as low dispersability (as a consequence of being flightless), and that its survival is strictly dependent on a number of vertebrates (particularly elephant and buffalo) that are also experiencing a decrease in population.
The flightless dung beetles mostly feed on elephant or buffalo faeces, but they have been recorded to also feed on dung from other species such as rabbits, baboons, antelopes, and ostriches. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Flightless Dung Beetle sighting in Addo Elephant National Park on a given day, based on 270 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the most-seen of the 198 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and October
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Flightless Dung Beetle in Addo Elephant National Park on a given day, against about 20% in September, the lowest month.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cape Flightless Dung Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Cape Flightless Dung Beetle sightings, Addo Elephant National Park ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, about 70%).
Same family: Scarabaeidae
The closest relatives of the Cape Flightless Dung Beetle that you can see in Addo Elephant National Park (family Scarabaeidae, Scarabs) are Garden Fruit Chafer (about 10%), White-Spotted Fruit Chafer (about 10%) and Orange Small Fruit Chafer (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cape Flightless Dung Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Addo Elephant National Park (270 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
