Trachylepis spilogaster
Silhouette: David Orr · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The Kalahari tree skink (Trachylepis spilogaster), or spiny mabuya, is a species of lizard in the skink family (Scincidae). The species is endemic to southern Africa, including Namibia, South Africa, western Botswana, and southern Angola.
Kalahari tree skinks have been found to live around trees that contain the large colonial nests of the sociable weaver. Their numbers are higher in these areas despite a known predator of skinks, the pygmy falcon, also nesting in these trees. It is theorized that the increased opportunity for places of refuge outweigh the risk of predation. Skinks found on colony trees have learned to eavesdrop on sociable weavers to warn of approaching pygmy falcons. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 2 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 3 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 4 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Kalahari Tree Skink sighting in Namib-Naukluft National Park on a given day, based on 52 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 8th most-seen of the 39 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Kalahari Tree Skink in Namib-Naukluft National Park on a given day, against about 20% in January–February, June and September, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Kalahari Tree Skink 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 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Kalahari Tree Skink sightings, Namib-Naukluft National Park ranks 3rd at about 30%. The best odds are in Waterberg Plateau Park (Namibia, about 60%) and Etosha National Park (Namibia, about 40%).
Same genus: Trachylepis
The closest relatives of the Kalahari Tree Skink that you can see in Namib-Naukluft National Park (genus Trachylepis, Afro-Malagasy Mabuyas) are Variegated Skink (about 20%), Western three-striped skink (about 20%) and Sharp-lipped Mabuya (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Kalahari Tree Skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Namib-Naukluft National Park (52 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.
