Sclerophrys capensis
Silhouette: Michael Scroggie, from original photograph by Gary M. Stolz, USFWS (original photograph in public domain). · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The raucous toad (Sclerophrys capensis), also known as Ranger's toad, is a species of toad from Southern Africa. Sclerophrys capensis is a member of the family Bufonidae. This species was described as Bufo regularis rangeri, in 1935, by John Hewitt of the Albany Museum, Grahamstown, from collections made by naturalist Gordon A. Ranger at his farm "Gleniffer" 3 km E of Kei Road, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Among several other forms described from these collections was the eastern leopard toad, Sclerophrys pardalis, which Ranger distinguished from the raucous toad on behaviour and calls (according to his nephew, Mr Gary Ranger, "Gleniffer" was subdivided in the late 1930s and the portions renamed, including "Hillside" and "Rockdale", where there is a monument to the older Mr Ranger). Hewitt considered the raucous toad, along with most other large toads of Southern Africa, as subspecies of the widespread African toad Bufo regularis (a species which is now considered absent from Southern Africa, predominantly occurring in subsaharan Africa north of the equator). Wikipedia →
Recording0:02
South Africa · 2005
© probreviceps · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:16
South Africa · 2026
© phrynosoma13 · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:10
South Africa · 2022
© ryanderoo · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Ranger's Toad sighting in Table Mountain 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 18 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Ranger's Toad in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February to October, the lowest months. Those are among Table Mountain National Park's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 110 mm in June.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ranger's Toad sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
5th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Ranger's Toad sightings, Table Mountain National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Garden Route National Park (South Africa, about 40%), De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, about 30%) and Golden Gate Highlands National Park (South Africa, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ranger's Toad is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Table Mountain 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.
