Sclerophrys capensis
Silhouette: Michael Scroggie, from original photograph by Gary M. Stolz, USFWS (original photograph in public domain). · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
The raucous toad (Sclerophrys capensis), also known as Ranger's toad, is a species of toad from Southern Africa. Sclerophrys capensis is a member of the family Bufonidae. This species was described as Bufo regularis rangeri, in 1935, by John Hewitt of the Albany Museum, Grahamstown, from collections made by naturalist Gordon A. Ranger at his farm "Gleniffer" 3 km E of Kei Road, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Among several other forms described from these collections was the eastern leopard toad, Sclerophrys pardalis, which Ranger distinguished from the raucous toad on behaviour and calls (according to his nephew, Mr Gary Ranger, "Gleniffer" was subdivided in the late 1930s and the portions renamed, including "Hillside" and "Rockdale", where there is a monument to the older Mr Ranger). Hewitt considered the raucous toad, along with most other large toads of Southern Africa, as subspecies of the widespread African toad Bufo regularis (a species which is now considered absent from Southern Africa, predominantly occurring in subsaharan Africa north of the equator). Wikipedia →
Recording0:02
South Africa · 2005
© probreviceps · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:16
South Africa · 2026
© phrynosoma13 · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:10
South Africa · 2022
© ryanderoo · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Ranger's Toad sighting in De Hoop Nature Reserve on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 6 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Ranger's Toad in De Hoop Nature Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in May, July–August and November, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ranger's Toad sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
2nd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Ranger's Toad sightings, De Hoop Nature Reserve ranks 2nd at about 30%. The best odds are in Garden Route National Park (South Africa, about 40%).
Same order: Anura
The closest relatives of the Ranger's Toad that you can see in De Hoop Nature Reserve (order Anura, Frogs and Toads) are Clicking Stream Frog (about 40%), African Clawed Frog (about 20%) and Cape River Frog (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ranger's Toad is recorded against all the amphibians logged in De Hoop Nature Reserve (14 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.
