Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax

Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax

Heterohyrax brucei

Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Lake Manyara National Park

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

7 Verified sightings at Lake Manyara National Park From 2019 to 2026
523 In all 12 parks
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax

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 →

Sounds

Recording0:15

Kenya · 2023

© seasav · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Recording0:18

Kenya · 2024

© Yvonne A. de Jong · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Recording0:48

Angola · 2026

© Zilpa Miranda · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Ruaha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~70%
2 Meru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~60%
3 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~50%
4 Tarangire National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~50%
5 Tsavo West National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~50%
6 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~40%
7 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~40%
8 Gonarezhou National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~40%
9 Hwange National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~40%
10 Lake Manyara National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~20%
11 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
12 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 San Diego Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 Moscow Zoo 🇷🇺 Russia In captivity
3 Prague Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
4 National Zoological Park 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
5 Tierpark Berlin 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
6 Zoo Pilsen 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
7 Saitama Children's Zoo 🇯🇵 Japan In captivity
8 Bearizona 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
9 Tierpark Cottbus 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
10 Edmonton Valley Zoo 🇨🇦 Canada In captivity
11 Zoo d'Amnéville 🇫🇷 France In captivity
12 Frankfurt Zoological Garden 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
13 Drusillas Zoo Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
14 Zoologischer Garten Hof 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
15 Aquarium d'Amnéville 🇫🇷 France In captivity
16 Rákosův pavilon 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
17 Velemlokárium 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax in Lake Manyara National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax sighting in Lake Manyara National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 16th most-seen of the 19 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.

When is the best time to see a Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax in Lake Manyara National Park?

April–May and July–September

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax in Lake Manyara National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June and October–March, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax?

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.

Where does the Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax is recorded against all the mammals logged in Lake Manyara National Park (7 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.

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