Table Mountain National Park
🇿🇦 South Africa
Southern Africa, South Africa 839 spp. recorded
Table Mountain National Park is a rugged mountain and coastal reserve wrapping around the city of Cape Town in South Africa. The landscape is defined by steep sandstone ridges and thick Mediterranean scrub, where visitors hike along rocky paths and coastal boardwalks through dense fynbos vegetation.
-34.252° S 18.426° E
🦜 Nature
433 Species sighted
222,231 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Oct Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
🌙 Most active after dark
+ 524 more species with insufficient data
Recent sightings in Table Mountain National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSounds of Table Mountain National Park
Afternoon soundscape1:35
South Africa · 2017
© Faansie Peacock · XC382998 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Sighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
46Jan
45Feb
47Mar
49Apr
46May
41Jun
43Jul
41Aug
48Sep
51Oct
50Nov
50Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden
-
Tokai Forest · Orphan Rd
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Tafelberg Road
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Southern Rock Agama~80%+30%
Black Girdled Lizard~70%+30%
Rock Hyrax~70%+40%
Cape River Frog~70%+30%
Red-winged Starling~70%-10%
Cape Crag Lizard~60%+40%
Klipspringer~50%+30%
Orange-breasted Sunbird~30%+10%
Cape Porcupine~30%+10%
Cape White-eye~30%-40%
Marbled Leaf-toed Gecko~30%-10%
Lightfoot's moss frog~30%+20%
-
Rondebosch Common
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Boulders Beach
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Good
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
ExcellentHow rich is the wildlife?
5.0
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 551
🐒 Mammals 168
🦎 Reptiles 86
🐸 Amphibians 34
839 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
58 Threatened 15 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
GoodHow likely to see animals?
2.9
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
58% 📊
Coverage (162 species at ≥5% of 839 in the inventory)
19% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (11 bird, 1 reptile)
20% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
94 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
8 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
17 🏕️
Experience
GoodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
3.1
Climate Mixed Medium
Entrance Paid Low
Tourism High Low
Trails Hard Low
World Heritage Yes Bonus
What visitors say
I saw an interesting bird called a speckled pigeon and took photos of interesting vegetation and entered them into my iNaturalist app.
We saw beautiful flowers tucked between rocks and plenty of sunbirds flitting from plant to plant.
We hiked up the towering peak at the tip of Cape of Good Hope to see a Cape Siskin.
Cape Spurfowl Swee Waxbill Egyptian Goose Habada Ibis We encountered many of these noisy, gregarious (and unappreciated) birds during our visit to southern Africa, but at Kirstenbosch we could get close enough to appreciate their beautiful plumage.
Before you go
What animals can you see in Table Mountain National Park?
839 species
Table Mountain National Park has 839 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Red-winged Starling (about 80%), Cape White-eye (about 70%), Southern Double-collared Sunbird (about 70%), Hadada (about 70%) and Egyptian Goose (about 60%). Among mammals, the most-seen is Afro-Australian Fur Seal (about 40%); among reptiles, Black Girdled Lizard (about 50%); among amphibians, Western Leopard Toad (about 40%).
When is the best time to visit Table Mountain National Park for wildlife?
March to November
In those months the park's 12 most-seen species average about 60% on a given day, against about 50% in December to February.
Can you see a Cape Sugarbird in Table Mountain National Park?
Yes
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Sugarbird sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 2,998 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is September (about 40%).
Can you see an Orange-breasted Sunbird in Table Mountain National Park?
Yes
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Orange-breasted Sunbird sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 2,678 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is February (about 40%).
Can you see a Mountain Zebra in Table Mountain National Park?
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mountain Zebra sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 137 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. Sightings take luck and time in the field.
Where in Table Mountain National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden
The richest sighting zone is around Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, followed by Tokai Forest · Orphan Rd and Tafelberg Road, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Table Mountain National Park good for wildlife watching?
3.5 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Table Mountain National Park rates 3.5/5: 198th of 316 parks worldwide and 57th in Africa. 23 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
