Plains Game Species Eastcape & Karoo Safaris

All South African non-dangerous game is commonly referred to collectively as “plains game”, regardless of whether they are forest, savannah, highveld, scrubland, or desert dwelling species. The diversity of plains game in South Africa is mind-boggling.

The best forest species are found along the lush sub-tropical eastern coastal belt and adjoining midlands.

Savanah species mostly frequent parts of the southern Kalahari, Bushveld basin, Bankeveld, Pietersburg Plateau, Soutpansbeg, lowveld, bushveld, and the Great Karoo. Savanah species are what made South Africa famous and the have, historically, limited themselves to the lowveld and the bushveld, and are rarely found outside these regions. Current South African conservation policy also, correctly, frowns upon moving species into regions without historically-recorded sightings, and actively opposes such introductions.

Highveld species are unique to the upper Karoo, highveld, and the Great Karoo regions, and are found nowhere else in the world.

This is a summary of the indigenous game of South Africa that can be hunted in the native habitats, although this habitat consists mostly of private land.