KnowKi

Learn the wildlife of national parks

Learn the wildlife of West Coast National Park

Western Cape · South Africa

1,161 species have research-grade observations inside West Coast National Park on iNaturalist. KnowKi turns the most recorded into short lessons with real photos, so you know what you're looking at before you go.

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Āki the kiwi, KnowKi's guide

Most recorded here

The species with the most research-grade observations on iNaturalist, and how many each has. Most recorded doesn't mean native.

Birds

  1. Cape Spurfowl Pternistis capensis360
  2. Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus331
  3. Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea312
  4. Hartlaub's Gull Chroicocephalus hartlaubii299
  5. Kittlitz's Plover Anarhynchus pecuarius291
  6. Common Ostrich Struthio camelus290
  7. Eurasian Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus280
  8. Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola257
  9. Karoo Scrub-Robin Tychaedon coryphoeus252
  10. Rock Kestrel Falco rupicolus244

Plants

  1. Red Mallow Pelargonium fulgidum306
  2. Cat Herb Pseudodictamnus africanus282
  3. Pale Viooltjie Lachenalia pallida262
  4. Yellow Milkbush Euphorbia mauritanica221
  5. Fairy-of-the-veld Heliophila coronopifolia216
  6. Black Flag Ferraria crispa209
  7. Sweet Tulp Moraea fugax206
  8. Yelloweye woodsorrel Oxalis obtusa168
  9. Medusa's-head Euphorbia caput-medusae166
  10. Weedy Monkshood Pterygodium orobanchoides162

Mammals

  1. Bontebok/Blesbok Damaliscus pygargus249
  2. Common Eland Tragelaphus oryx164
  3. Steenbok Raphicerus campestris135
  4. Mountain Zebra Equus zebra104
  5. Brown Fur Seal Arctocephalus pusillus86
  6. Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse Rhabdomys pumilio55
  7. Caracal Caracal caracal30
  8. Rock Hyrax Procavia capensis30
  9. Cape Grey Mongoose Herpestes pulverulentus27
  10. Springbok Antidorcas marsupialis25

Insects

  1. Koppie Foam Grasshopper Dictyophorus spumans105
  2. Cherry Spot Diaphone eumela93
  3. Mountain White-spot Mesocelis monticola66
  4. Common Corncricket Hetrodes pupus49
  5. Saldanha Protea Chafer Trichostetha bicolor34
  6. Southern Harvester Termite Microhodotermes viator25
  7. Pachysoma hippocrates24
  8. Strandveld Groovewing Flower Beetle Melyris viridis24
  9. Obese Lily Weevil Brachycerus obesus21
  10. Pine Emperor Nudaurelia cytherea19

Spiders and kin

  1. Cape Burrowing Scorpion Opistophthalmus capensis44
  2. Common Black Baboon Spider Harpactira atra21
  3. Cape Thicktail Scorpion Parabuthus capensis17
  4. Peninsular Burrowing Scorpion Opistophthalmus latro17
  5. Common Lesser-Thicktail Scorpion Uroplectes carinatus6

Reptiles

  1. Angulate Tortoise Chersina angulata635
  2. Karoo Girdled Lizard Karusasaurus polyzonus125
  3. Mole Snake Pseudaspis cana116
  4. Puff Adder Bitis arietans113
  5. Cape Skink Trachylepis capensis44
  6. Boomslang Dispholidus typus39
  7. Rhombic Skaapsteker Psammophylax rhombeatus28
  8. Cape Cobra Naja nivea26
  9. Black Girdled Lizard Cordylus niger25
  10. Cape Sand Snake Psammophis leightoni23

Mollusks

  1. White Italian Snail Theba pisana23
  2. Granular Limpet Scutellastra granularis9
  3. White Clam Donax serra7
  4. Agulhas Ploughshell Bullia digitalis7

How a trip works

A trip has its own trail of lessons: meet six species, match them to new photos, then practice with four choices. Species you learn go into your Fieldbook, and starting a trip earns its Passport stamp. Your home place stays as it is.

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Species lists and counts from research-grade observations on iNaturalist, as of October 2026. Parks outside the U.S. are from the World Database on Protected Areas (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, Protected Planet). KnowKi is not affiliated with the National Park Service or any park's managers. Free, with no ads, no account, and no purchases.