Why do springbok pronk?

Pronking is the stiff-legged leap with the back arched and the white rump crest flared. It is generally read as a signal to a predator that the animal has seen it and is fit enough to outrun it, so the chase is not worth starting. Lambs also pronk in play, which is the version most guests see.

What is the Springbok?

The springbok (/ˈsprɪŋˌbɒk/; Antidorcas marsupialis) is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in southern and southwestern Africa. The sole member of the genus Antidorcas, this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1780. Three subspecies are identified.

Wildlife

Springbok

Q: Where are the best places to see springbok?

The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, the Karoo parks including Karoo National Park and Camdeboo, Mokala and Augrabies in the Northern Cape, and the open Free State grasslands. They are also common on farmland across the arid west, so many farm stays have them on the property.

Antidorcas marsupialis

The springbok (/ˈsprɪŋˌbɒk/; Antidorcas marsupialis) is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in southern and southwestern Africa.

from Wikipedia

Showing stays that recordSpringbok40+ stays list it on site or nearby

Species insights▾

When to visit

Recorded year-round

Recorded in every month, so no month is the wrong month to look. We would rather say that than invent a best time.

Best monthsAny month

Records2,545 records

Curve from 2,545 national iNaturalist observations, not from one property. Single-month spikes are discarded as upload artefacts, and below 50 records we show no curve at all.

Where you'll find it

Western Cape and beyond

Provinces where Springbok is most recorded. Tap one to find places to stay.

2,542 records, iNaturalist

Parks where hosts record the Springbok

Qambathi Mountain Lodge

Nottingham Road

Springbok recorded here · Grassland biome · 2 birds recorded · Bushbuck, Serval · Spa, Horse riding

From R 4,100 per night

Izingwe Lodge

Welgevonden Reserve, Vaalwater

Springbok recorded here · Savanna biome · 15 birds recorded · Aardvark, Banded mongoose · Hiking, Scenic drives

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

Price on request

Inzalo Safari Lodge

Welgevonden Reserve, Vaalwater

Springbok recorded here · Savanna biome · 15 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Scenic drives

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

Price on request

Heritage View Birding Retreat

Delareyville

Springbok recorded here · Grassland biome · 14 birds recorded · Brown hyena, Black backed jackal · Photography

Supports BirdLife South Africa

From R 1,000 per night

Quagga River Lodge

Western Cape

Springbok recorded here · Fynbos biome · Cape fox, Gemsbok · Canoeing, Game drives

Price on request

Inverdoorn Private Game Reserve

Western Cape

Springbok recorded here · Succulent Karoo biome · 16 birds recorded · Black wildebeest, Black backed jackal · Spa, Stargazing

Supports Saving Private Rhino

Price on request

Aquila Private Game Reserve & Spa

Touws River

Springbok recorded here · Fynbos biome · 1 bird recorded · Giraffe, Leopard · Spa, Stargazing

Supports Saving Private Rhino

From R 7,820 per night

Twee Rivieren Rest Camp

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Springbok recorded here · Savanna biome · Gemsbok, Camel thorn

From R 450 per night

Mountain Zebra National Park

Springbok recorded here · Grassland biome · Black wildebeest, Springbok · Stargazing, Game drives

From R 449 per night

Mata-Mata Rest Camp

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Springbok recorded here · Savanna biome · Gemsbok, Camel thorn

From R 450 per night

Grootkolk Wilderness Camp

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Springbok recorded here · Savanna biome · 97 birds recorded · Gemsbok, Springbok

From R 2,634 per night

Bitterpan Wilderness Camp

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Springbok recorded here · Savanna biome · 97 birds recorded · Gemsbok, Camel thorn · Stargazing, 4x4 trails

From R 2,634 per night

Golden Gate Hotel And Chalets

Golden Gate Highlands National Park

Springbok recorded here · Grassland biome · Black wildebeest, Blesbok · Hiking

From R 1,741 per night

Camdeboo Rest Camp

Camdeboo National Park

Springbok recorded here · Albany Thicket biome · Blesbok, Springbok

From R 345 per night

Plan a trip around these stays

Planning a trip

When and where to find the Springbok

The springbok is the national animal and the most widespread antelope in the dry half of the country.

When to go, park by park

Here all yearEasiest viewing

Best months to visit each park where hosts record the Springbok
Park	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Kgalagadi	Here	Here	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here
Golden Gate Highlands	Here	Here	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Here	Here

Darker months are each park's own best season, when thinner bush or scarce water makes viewing easier. A sighting is never guaranteed.

Best hours of the day

Early morning and late afternoon. The Springbok is out through the day, and easiest to watch before the heat.
Midday heat. Often resting in shade or near water.

Where to base yourself

Ways to look

Drive yourself

Your own vehicle and pace, on the park's roads.

Where hosts record it

Kgalagadi Golden Gate Highlands Tankwa Karoo Augrabies Falls Camdeboo

Guided drives from a lodge

A guide who knows where to look, with off-road and night drives in the private reserves.

Where hosts record it

Gondwana Welgevonden

Species

Antidorcas marsupialis

Records

2 542

iNaturalist observations

Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.

Questions travellers ask

A record means a host has seen the Springbok on the property or nearby. It is never a guarantee of a sighting.

More about the Springbok

The springbok is the national animal and the most widespread antelope in the dry half of the country. It lives where grass is short and water is scarce: the Karoo, Namaqualand, the Kalahari and the open grasslands of the Free State and the Northern Cape, and it does well on farmland, so you will see herds from the road long before you reach a park.

There is no closed season for them. What changes is the spectacle. After good rains in the arid west, herds gather in numbers on the fresh grass, and in spring the lambs arrive together within a few weeks of each other, which is the best time to watch a herd. The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and the Karoo parks hold the largest concentrations, and Namaqualand in August and September puts springbok in front of the flower fields.

The name comes from the pronking, a stiff-legged vertical leap with the back arched and the white crest along the rump flared open, which they do when alarmed and sometimes for no visible reason at all. Pair the Karoo for springbok with dark-sky stargazing, gravel riding and the Victorian villages of the interior.

When is the best time to see springbok?

Any time of year, since they are resident across the arid interior and easily seen. For the biggest herds, the months after good rains in the Kalahari and the Karoo, and for lambs, spring. Namaqualand in August and September combines them with the flower season.

Where are the best places to see springbok?