Wildlife Around Cape Town
Cape Town offers surprisingly diverse wildlife encounters — from penguins and whales to seals and sharks to baboons and the rare Cape mountain leopard. All right on the doorstep of a metropolis.
The Big Marine Five
- African Penguins — Boulders Beach (Simon's Town) and Stony Point (Betty's Bay). Visible year-round, breeding season February to August.
- Southern Right Whales — June to November in False Bay and near Hermanus. The gentle giants often come within a few meters of the shore.
- Cape Fur Seals — Duiker Island (Hout Bay) is home to thousands of seals, accessible by boat tour. Also on Robben Island and in Kalk Bay.
- Great White Sharks — Gansbaai (2 hours east) was the world capital of cage diving with great white sharks. The population has decreased in recent years (orca predation), but shark tours are still offered.
- Dolphins — Various species in False Bay and off the Atlantic coast. Best seen from a boat or the Cliff Path near Hermanus.
On Land
- Chacma Baboons — Over 500 baboons live on the Cape Peninsula. Intelligent, bold, and sometimes problematic — keep your distance and never feed them!
- Dassies (Rock Hyrax) — The small, furry animals on the summit of Table Mountain look like marmots but are actually the closest living relatives of elephants. Friendly, but do not feed.
- Cape Mountain Leopard — Extremely rare, but indeed some leopards live in the mountains around Cape Town. A sighting is a once-in-a-lifetime stroke of luck.
