Procavia capensis
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The rock hyrax (Procavia capensis), also called dassie, Rickaz, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, or coney (in early English Bible translations), is a medium-sized terrestrial hyrax native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly called the dassie in South Africa (Afrikaans: klipdassie), it is one of the five living species of the order Hyracoidea, and the only one in the genus Procavia.
Rock hyraxes weigh 4–5 kg (8.8–11.0 lb) and have short ears. Rock hyraxes are found at elevations up to 4,200 m (13,800 ft) above sea level in habitats with rock crevices, allowing them to escape from predators. They are the only extant terrestrial afrotherians in the Middle East. Hyraxes typically live in groups of 10–80 animals, and forage as a group. They have been reported to use sentries to warn of the approach of predators. Having incomplete thermoregulation, they are most active in the morning and evening, although their activity pattern varies substantially with season and climate.
Over most of its range, the rock hyrax is not endangered, and in some areas is considered a minor pest. Rock hyraxes are squat and heavily built, with adults reaching a length of 50 cm (20 in) and... Wikipedia →
Call0:49
South Africa · 2023
© Marc Anderson · XC1098997 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Call1:19
Zimbabwe · 1995
© Simon Elliott · XC960973 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
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South Africa · 2023
© Stephen Moss · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 2 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 5 | Bale Mountains National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 6 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 9 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 12 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 13 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 14 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 15 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ramallah | 🇵🇸 Palestine | |
| 2 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Busch Gardens Tampa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Moscow Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 4 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Basel Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 6 | ZooParc de Beauval | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Zürich Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 8 | North Carolina Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Dvůr Králové Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 10 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 11 | Al Ain Zoo | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | |
| 12 | Living Desert Zoo and Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Kansas City Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Ramat Gan Safari | 🇮🇱 Israel | |
| 16 | Chester Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 17 | Cheyenne Mountain Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | Wildlife World Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 19 | Louisville Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 20 | Warsaw Zoo | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 21 | Novosibirsk Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 22 | Granby Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 23 | Colchester Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 24 | Caldwell Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 25 | Edinburgh Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 26 | Calgary Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 27 | Diergaarde Blijdorp | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 28 | Night Safari | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 29 | Indianapolis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 30 | Singapore Zoo | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 31 | Virginia Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 32 | Wilhelma | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 33 | San Antonio Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 34 | Tierpark Hagenbeck | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 35 | Nikolaev Zoo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 36 | Hogle Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 37 | Zoo d'Amnéville | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 38 | Krakow Zoo | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 39 | Valencia Bioparc | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 40 | Pueblo Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 41 | Tennōji Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 42 | River Wonders | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 43 | Ueno Zoological Gardens (West Garden) | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 44 | Henry Vilas Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 45 | Leningrad Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 46 | Stone Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 47 | Dierenpark Zie-ZOO | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 48 | Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 49 | World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 50 | Kobe Animal Kingdom | 🇯🇵 Japan |
No species of the same family or order lives in Golden Gate Highlands National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other mammals.
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Rock Hyrax sighting in Golden Gate Highlands National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 8th most-seen of the 8 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Rock Hyrax in Golden Gate Highlands National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, June and November–February, the lowest months. That is one of Golden Gate Highlands National Park's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain against 130 mm in January.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rock Hyrax sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
10th of 15
Of the 15 parks where we can rate Rock Hyrax sightings, Golden Gate Highlands National Park ranks 10th at about 30%. The best odds are in Waterberg Plateau Park (Namibia, about 80%), Kidepo Valley National Park (Uganda, about 70%) and De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, about 60%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rock Hyrax is recorded against all the mammals logged in Golden Gate Highlands National Park (5 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.
