Alcelaphus caama
Silhouette: Jan A. Venter, Herbert H. T. Prins, David A. Balfour & Rob Slotow (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The red hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus caama), also called the Cape hartebeest or Caama, is a subspecies of the hartebeest found in Southern Africa. More than 130,000 individuals live in the wild. The red hartebeest is closely related to the tsessebe and the topi.
Alcelaphus buselaphus caama is a large African antelope of the family Bovidae, one of ten subspecies; it is sometimes treated as a separate species, A. caama. Commonly known as the red hartebeest, it is the most colorful hartebeest, with black markings contrasting against its white abdomen and behind. It has a longer face that other subspecies, with complex curving horns joined at the base. The average weight of a male is about 150 kg, and female is 120 kg. Their average shoulder height is 135 cm, and horns are 60 cm long. The life expectancy of a red hartebeest is around 19 years. Little sexual dimorphism is noted between males and females, showing no distinct identifiable physical features, but body size is slightly affected. Horn size, however, expresses more dimorphism between males and females, as males fight and defend themselves for sexual selection. Thus, male skull weight and circumference is slightly greater than that of the female.
Hartebeests have an excellent sense of hearing and smell, although their sense of sight is poor. When alarmed, hartebeests flee, reaching a maximum speed of 55 km/h. Their evasion tactic is to induce confusion by running in a zigzag pattern, making it difficult for predators to catch them. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 2 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Khama sighting in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on a given day, based on 96 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 7th most-seen of the 28 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and February
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Khama in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on a given day, against about 30% in June and November–December, the lowest months. Those are among Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park's wettest months, with about 35 mm of rain a month against almost none in July.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Khama sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Khama sightings, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park ranks 3rd at about 40%. The best odds are in Etosha National Park (Namibia, about 60%) and Addo Elephant National Park (South Africa, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Bovidae
The closest relatives of the Khama that you can see in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (family Bovidae, Bovids) are Gemsbok (about 60%), Blue Wildebeest (about 50%) and Springbok (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Khama is recorded against all the mammals logged in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (96 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.
