Damaliscus lunatus
Silhouette: [unknown] · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Damaliscus lunatus is a large African antelope of the genus Damaliscus and subfamily Alcelaphinae in the family Bovidae, with a number of recognised geographic subspecies. Some authorities have split the different populations of the species into different species, although this is seen as controversial. Common names include topi, sassaby (formerly also sassayby), tiang and tsessebe.
The word tope or topi is Swahili, and was first recorded by the German explorer Gustav Fischer on the ancient city island of Lamu off the Kenyan coast. Other names recorded in East Africa by various German explorers were mhili in Kisukuma and jimäla in Kinyamwezi. The Luganda name was simäla according to Neumann, or nemira according to Lugard.
The first thing published about this antelope was the afore-mentioned painting of a young male sassayby by Daniell from 1820, but the first scientific description was by William John Burchell in 1824. In 1812 hunters attached to Burchell's expedition shot a female animal in what is now Free State, in what is thought to be the southernmost part of its range. Burchell named it the "crescent-horned antelope", Antilope lunata. Burchell had... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 2 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 4 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tsessebe sighting in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, based on 31 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 24th most-seen of the 34 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Tsessebe in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, against under 5% in September, the lowest month.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tsessebe sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Tsessebe sightings, iSimangaliso Wetland Park ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Moremi Game Reserve (Botswana, about 50%), Pilanesberg National Park (South Africa, about 30%) and Chobe National Park (Botswana, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Bovidae
The closest relatives of the Tsessebe that you can see in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (family Bovidae, Bovids) are Greater Kudu (about 40%), African Buffalo (about 40%) and Waterbuck (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tsessebe is recorded against all the mammals logged in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (31 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.
