Hystrix africaeaustralis
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The Cape porcupine (Hystrix africaeaustralis), Cape crested porcupine or South African porcupine, is a species of Old World porcupine native to central and southern Africa. Cape porcupines are one of the largest rodents in Africa and also one of the largest species of porcupine. Cape porcupines are amongst the largest living rodents in the world; a few other rodents appear to be larger in body mass such as the capybara and the Eurasian and North American beavers. They are similar in appearance to the slightly larger and closely related crested porcupine. They can most easily be distinguished from them by the presence of a band of short white spines along the midline of the rump. Indian porcupines are almost the same size on average as well, being slightly heavier on average than crested porcupines but slightly lighter than Cape porcupines.
Cape porcupines measure 63 to 81 centimetres (25 to 32 inches) long from the head to the base of the tail, with the tail adding a further 11–20 centimetres (4.3–7.9 inches). They weigh from 10 to 24 kilograms (22 to 53 pounds), with exceptionally large specimens weighing up to 30 kg (66 lb); males and females are not significantly... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 2 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 3 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 7 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Porcupine sighting in Namib-Naukluft National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 18th most-seen of the 26 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June–July and November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Porcupine in Namib-Naukluft National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–April and August, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cape Porcupine sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
6th of 10
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Cape Porcupine sightings, Namib-Naukluft National Park ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Kafue National Park (Zambia, about 30%), Liwonde National Park (Malawi, about 30%) and Table Mountain National Park (South Africa, about 20%).
Same order: Rodentia
The closest relatives of the Cape Porcupine that you can see in Namib-Naukluft National Park (order Rodentia, Rodents) are Cape Ground Squirrel (about 30%), Dassie Rat (about 20%) and Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cape Porcupine is recorded against all the mammals logged in Namib-Naukluft National Park (11 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.
