Rhabdomys pumilio
Silhouette: T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
The four-striped grass mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) or four-striped grass rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found throughout the southern half of Africa up to 2,300 metres (7,500 ft) above sea level, extending as far north as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its has many natural habitats such as savannas, shrublands, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, hot deserts, arable land, rural gardens, and urban areas. The presence of grass is the only essential component of its habitat. The four stripes running down its back, along with its red-brown ears, are its most distinct characteristics. Diet consists largely of seeds and plants, and occasionally insects. It nests in self-built burrows. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Exotic Animal World | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse sighting in Cape Town on a given day, based on 160 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 5th most-seen of the 29 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May–July and December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse in Cape Town on a given day, against about 10% in January–April and August–November, the lowest months. Those are among Cape Town's wettest months, with about 90 mm of rain a month against 15 mm in February.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Cape Town, in our data
Cape Town is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse is recorded against all the mammals logged in Cape Town (160 verified sightings), 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.
