MalaMala Private Game Reserve

Wildlife & Animals

Expert

Philip is author of ‘The Rough Guide to Game Parks of South Africa’.

MalaMala offers superb viewing of all large safari animals, especially the Big Five. Lion, cheetah and leopard are easily seen, and off-road driving in open vehicles assures that sightings are of the highest quality. MalaMala is part of the Greater Kruger ecosystem, which makes for a very authentic wildlife experience.

ElephantCommon

GiraffeCommon

HippoCommon

BuffaloCommon

ZebraCommon

WildebeestCommon

White RhinoOccasional

Black RhinoVery Rare

LionCommon

LeopardCommon

CheetahOccasional

HyenaCommon

Wild DogRare

Wildlife Highlights

MalaMala’s main attraction is its habituated leopards. Being able to follow these normally elusive cats provides fantastic opportunities to see seldom witnessed behavior. Lion, buffalo and elephant are common along the Sand River. White rhino is often spotted, but black rhino sightings are very rare. Wild dog travel in and out of the reserve, but tend to give good sightings when they are around.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

The optimal time to view wildlife in MalaMala is the Dry season (June to September). The end of the Dry season (from August to September) is especially good since temperatures are warmer than in mid-winter and wildlife concentrates at predictable water sources.