Tracking Africa’s most elusive species on foot

For example, in South Africa’s largest private game reserve, the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, you can track the “elusive five”: the ground pangolin and brown hyena (both endangered), aardvark, aardwolf and bat-eared fox.

Endangered species and rare sightings are often location-specific. For example, you can find African wild dogs in Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park, black rhinoceros in Kenya’s Sera Community Conservancy, the rare black leopard (which has a colour mutation) on Kenya’s Laikipia Plateau, and the desert-adapted black rhino and elephant in Namibia’s Damaraland.

The best time to go is in the dry season (May to October), as vegetation is thin and the animals congregate near water sources. Private reserves, with their lower visitor numbers, are ideal because they can devote more time to tracking. And it’s vital that all tracking on foot, especially in areas with the Big Five, is led by an experienced and armed guide.