Heterohyrax brucei
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The yellow-spotted rock hyrax or bush hyrax (Heterohyrax brucei) is a species of hyrax in the family Procaviidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, northern South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and rocky areas. Hyrax comes from the Greek word ὕραξ, or shrew-mouse.
Heterohyrax is a bush hyrax, as opposed to a rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) or a tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax). Although difficult to distinguish in the field, the bush hyrax differs from the rock hyrax in being smaller and less heavily built and having a narrower muzzle.
Hyraxes have molariform teeth that are brachydont, meaning they have short crowns and well-developed roots. The bush hyrax has an upper premolar series that is the same length as the molar series, while the rock hyrax has a shorter upper premolar series and the tree hyrax has a longer upper premolar series. Hyraxes have upper tusk-like upper incisors and four lower incisors that are comb-like and used to groom the fur. While the incisors... Wikipedia →
Recording0:15
Kenya · 2023
© seasav · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Kenya · 2024
© Yvonne A. de Jong · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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Angola · 2026
© Zilpa Miranda · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 5 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 8 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 9 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 10 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 11 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 12 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Moscow Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 3 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 4 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Tierpark Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 7 | Saitama Children's Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 8 | Bearizona | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Tierpark Cottbus | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 10 | Edmonton Valley Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 11 | Zoo d'Amnéville | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 12 | Frankfurt Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 13 | Drusillas Zoo Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 14 | Zoologischer Garten Hof | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 15 | Aquarium d'Amnéville | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 16 | Rákosův pavilon | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 17 | Velemlokárium | 🇨🇿 Czechia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax sighting in Kruger National Park on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 43rd most-seen of the 60 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, June–September and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax in Kruger National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–May, October and December–January, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
12th of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax sightings, Kruger National Park ranks 12th at about 10%. The best odds are in Ruaha National Park (Tanzania, about 70%), Meru National Park (Kenya, about 60%) and Tsavo East National Park (Kenya, about 50%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax is recorded against all the mammals logged in Kruger National Park (23 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.
