Felis lybica
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The African wildcat (Felis lybica) is a small wildcat species with sandy grey fur, pale vertical stripes on the sides and around the face. It is native to Africa, West and Central Asia, and is distributed to Rajasthan in India and Xinjiang in China. It inhabits a broad variety of landscapes ranging from deserts to savannas, shrublands and grasslands.
The African wildcat is the ancestor of the domestic cat (F. catus). Some African wildcats were domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Near East. Interspecific hybrids between both species are common where their ranges overlap.
Felis lybica was the scientific name proposed in 1780 by Georg Forster who based his description on a specimen from Gafsa on the Barbary Coast that had the size of a domestic cat, but a reddish fur, short black tufts on the ears, and a ringed tail.
Between the late 18th and 20th centuries, several naturalists and curators of natural history museums described and proposed new names for wildcat holotypes from Africa and the Near East, including: Felis ocreata by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1791 was based on a description of a wildcat encountered in northern Ethiopia by James Bruce.
Felis cafra by... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 3 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 5 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 6 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parc des Félins | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Birmingham Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Novosibirsk Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 5 | Yerevan Zoo | 🇦🇲 Armenia | |
| 6 | Bahawalpur Zoo | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | |
| 7 | Reserva Zoológica Oasys MiniHollywood | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Emdoneni Cheetah Project | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Great Cats World Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Zoo Koki (Parque zoológico y botánico) | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 11 | Jukani Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an African Wildcat sighting in Etosha National Park on a given day, based on 27 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 27th most-seen of the 37 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report an African Wildcat in Etosha National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June and December–January, the lowest months. That is one of Etosha National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 75 mm in January.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Wildcat sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Among the best
Of the 6 parks where we can rate African Wildcat sightings, Etosha National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (South Africa, about 20%).
Same family: Felidae
The closest relatives of the African Wildcat that you can see in Etosha National Park (family Felidae, Felids) are Lion (about 70%), Cheetah (about 40%) and Leopard (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Wildcat is recorded against all the mammals logged in Etosha National Park (27 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.
