There has been a notable increase in the number of sightings of rarer species such as caracals, aardvarks, honey badgers, springhares, and wild cats on the reserve.
In particular, caracal sightings have been regular and localised, indicating the presence of multiple territorial caracals on the reserve that are being seen regularly.
As from the historical Ingwelala sightings books, please see Table 1 below summarising the average count of each species seen per year as compared to the current year and month:
.
This increase has been noted throughout winter and may be as a result of the unusual rainfall patterns observed during 2026, and is particularly surprising considering the incredibly lush veld conditions on the reserve. Considering that these are all small- to medium-sized mammals, it is usually more difficult to spot them when grasses are long and the veld remains thick. However, more shelter available in the habitat supports more successful breeding. It is normal for sightings to fluctuate over the years; however, historical data indicates that sightings such as these were more common many years ago than they have been in the past recent years.
Should you have any historical sightings of rare species, or photographs taken at Ingwelala that you wish to share to contribute towards these historical records, please send them to
Words by Tess Woollgar. Images courtesy of Matthew Jupin and Luc van den Handel