Established almost twenty years ago, Madikwe has successfully reintroduced more than 28 species, including lion, elephant and buffalo, as well as black and white rhino. Large numbers of elephant, giraffe and impala occur alongside oryx, springbok and red hartebeest. Both spotted and brown hyena are found in the reserve. Threatened species like the wild dog and black rhino have done particularly well at Madikwe. The African wild dog, one of the continent’s most endangered carnivores, now thrives in the area, with at least two strong packs roaming the reserve.

An unusual resident at Madikwe is the brown hyena, which is seldom seen due to its secretive nocturnal habits. A healthy population of these shaggy scavengers exists at Madikwe and some have become bold enough for regular sightings. With the Madikwe rangers acquainted with the location of a number of dens, pups can be easily located and monitored.  Elephant have been yet another huge success story at Madikwe. Entire family groups were captured and translocated as units and the elephant numbers at Madikwe have shown incredible growth.

One of the most abundant antelope at Madikwe is the graceful kudu, with its elegant spiral horns. Small family groups of related females and their young, as well as bachelor herds of up to ten males are often encountered. The acacia savanna of Madikwe provides an ideal food source for giraffe and these exceptional animals can often be spotted walking tall through the reserve. Giraffe are uniquely adapted to their environment and the vast majority of their diet is completely beyond the reach of other herbivores.

Recent Sightings from Wildwatch.com

Dominant stallion defends his kinship - 15 February 2010
A lot of the time I have seen challenge rituals between zebra stallions while out on game drive but never have I seen a proper fight like I did this morning. It has been very hot here in Madikwe and there has been little rain, because of this, large...
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A very eventful evening! - 22 January 2010
The other evening on drive, our mission was to find the wild dogs. It was my guests’ last game drive before they headed home and all our attempts to find the dogs had been fruitless. We were also on the look out for elephant herds, as we had only...
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black rhino charge - 22 January 2010
Over the past few days myself and another ranger have been going down to the south of the reserve to photograph some small jackal pups playing at their den site. Yesterday morning when we arrived there the pups were out and about but on the far side of...
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