Skip to content

Map
Species
Parks
Diving

Log in Create account

WAnimals

The definitive guide for travelers and animal lovers: discover, plan and share your wild adventures around the world.

Discover wildlife

Species
Glossary
Tags

Explore places

Map
Countries
Parks
Diving

Learn

Blog

Resources

Help Center
Contact
Install the app

Follow us

Account

Log in
Create account

© 2026 WAnimals. All rights reserved.

About us Terms of service Privacy Legal notice

Map Species Parks Diving

A full-body African elephant on a rock in the savannah at sunset, with zebras and giraffes behind

Species

Discover any species on the planet

Learn what each species is like, find out where it lives in the wild, and plan your next sighting — all in one place.

Search a species

2,565

Species documented

224

Countries with recorded wildlife

1,337

Parks connected

Explore by class

Start here(8)

Apex predators187species Giants of nature57species Threatened species515species Night life768species Big cats39species Polar wildlife74species Endemic species6species The Big Five6species

1South Africa

Conservation

Continent

Country

Showing 434 species · South Africa

Showing 434 species · South Africa

Select up to 3 species to compare them

King Penguin

Aptenodytes patagonicus

CarnivoreDiurnalColonial

Near Threatened

Lesser Flamingo

Phoeniconaias minor

DiurnalColonialNear Threatened

Reef Manta Ray

Mobula alfredi

DiurnalVulnerableFish

African Savanna Elephant

Loxodonta africana

Big FiveHerbivoreVariable activity

Southern Right Whale

Eubalaena australis

CarnivoreVariable activitySolitary

Plains Zebra

Equus quagga

HerbivoreDiurnalIn herds

Common Wildebeest

Connochaetes taurinus

HerbivoreVariable activityIn herds

Nile Crocodile

Crocodylus niloticus

CarnivoreVariable activitySolitary

Common Hippopotamus

Hippopotamus amphibius

HerbivoreNocturnalIn herds

Greater Flamingo

Phoenicopterus roseus

OmnivoreDiurnalColonial

Sperm Whale

Physeter macrocephalus

CarnivoreVariable activityFamily group

Leopard

Panthera pardus

CarnivoreNocturnalSolitary

Gemsbok

Oryx gazella

HerbivoreVariable activityIn herds

Critically Endangered

Black Rhinoceros

Diceros bicornis

Big FiveHerbivoreVariable activity

Near Threatened

Bull Shark

Carcharhinus leucas

CarnivoreVariable activitySolitary

Critically Endangered

Hawksbill Turtle

Eretmochelys imbricata

CarnivoreDiurnalSolitary

Near Threatened

African Buffalo

Syncerus caffer

Big FiveHerbivoreVariable activity

Giraffe

Giraffa camelopardalis

HerbivoreDiurnalIn herds

Lion

Panthera leo

Big FiveCarnivoreCrepuscular

Near Threatened

White Rhinoceros

Ceratotherium simum

Big FiveHerbivoreVariable activity

Great Barracuda

Sphyraena barracuda

CarnivoreDiurnalSolitary

Loggerhead Turtle

Caretta caretta

CarnivoreDiurnalSolitary

Great White Pelican

Pelecanus onocrotalus

PiscivoreDiurnalColonial

Near Threatened

Thomson's Gazelle

Eudorcas thomsonii

HerbivoreDiurnalIn herds

Great White Shark

Carcharodon carcharias

CarnivoreVariable activitySolitary

Leatherback Sea Turtle

Dermochelys coriacea

CarnivoreVariable activitySolitary

Southern Royal Albatross

Diomedea epomophora

CarnivoreDiurnalIn pairs

Black-browed Albatross

Thalassarche melanophris

CarnivoreDiurnalColonial

Critically Endangered

Giant Clam

Tridacna gigas

OmnivoreVariable activitySolitary

African Jackals

Lupulella mesomelas

OmnivoreNocturnalIn pairs

Green Turtle

Chelonia mydas

HerbivoreVariable activitySolitary

150 countries70 parks400 dive sites

Humpback Whale

Megaptera novaeangliae

OmnivoreVariable activitySolitary

134 countries46 parks104 dive sites

Killer Whale

Orcinus orca

CarnivoreVariable activityIn packs

109 countries29 parks45 dive sites

Whale Shark

Rhincodon typus

OmnivoreVariable activitySolitary

92 countries18 parks75 dive sites

Critically Endangered

Staghorn Coral

Acropora cervicornis

CarnivoreNocturnalColonial

94 countries18 parks82 dive sites

Dugong

Dugong dugon

HerbivoreVariable activitySolitary

46 countries16 parks41 dive sites

Southern Elephant Seal

Mirounga leonina

CarnivoreVariable activityIn herds

13 countries20 parks4 dive sites

Giant Manta

Mobula birostris

OmnivoreVariable activitySolitary

108 countries19 parks28 dive sites

Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

CarnivoreVariable activityIn packs

155 countries83 parks364 dive sites

Blue Whale

Balaenoptera musculus

OmnivoreVariable activitySolitary

128 countries5 parks13 dive sites

12 countries

6 parks

1 dive site

47 countries

11 parks

59 countries

35 parks

141 dive sites

43 countries

58 parks

21 countries

8 parks

16 dive sites

43 countries

28 parks

43 countries

13 parks

45 countries

57 parks

2 dive sites

43 countries

30 parks

1 dive site

82 countries

13 parks

1 dive site

154 countries

38 parks

20 dive sites

114 parks

10 countries

12 parks

43 countries

18 parks

32 countries

14 parks

15 dive sites

114 countries

51 parks

376 dive sites

43 countries

61 parks

19 parks

52 parks

43 countries

8 parks

113 countries

34 parks

266 dive sites

94 countries

7 parks

174 dive sites

72 countries

22 parks

43 countries

5 parks

68 countries

31 parks

16 dive sites

118 countries

6 parks

18 dive sites

15 countries

5 parks

1 dive site

17 countries

19 parks

58 countries

35 parks

236 dive sites

43 countries

17 parks