Planning a trip to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park? Download opspoor to see recent sightings in the park and log your own.
Your chances of seeing Gemsbok in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Easy to see. Hard to miss. Most drives in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park turn up Gemsbok.
When to see Gemsbok in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Gemsbok are most active early morning (05:00 to 08:00) and late afternoon into dusk (17:00 to 20:00).
This is Gemsbok's general behavior. Once enough sightings are logged in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, this page also shows when they're actually seen here.
Where to look for Gemsbok in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park: best roads
Drive
Kaa Access Road, Upper Dune Road and Lower Dune Road run through kalahari dunes and sandveld: good country for Gemsbok.
- Kaa Access Road80.2 km · kalahari dunes and sandveld
- Upper Dune Road52.7 km · kalahari dunes and sandveld
- Lower Dune Road35.4 km · kalahari dunes and sandveld
Picked from habitat, not from sightings. opspoor shows where Gemsbok have actually been seen recently.
About the Gemsbok
The gemsbok is a large, powerfully built desert antelope with a light tan-grey coat, a long black tail, bold black markings on the flanks and legs, and long, straight horns carried by both sexes. It lives in arid grassland, savanna and semi-desert, and gets much of its water from wild melons and dug-up roots rather than relying on drinking. Gemsbok are mostly crepuscular, feeding in the cool of the morning and late afternoon and sheltering in shade at midday, though they become more active at night in the hot season.
How to identify the Gemsbok
Large, pale tan-grey antelope with long, straight, spear-like horns on both sexes, a black stripe along the flank, black patches on the front legs above white "socks" and a long black tail. Sable and roan have backward-curved horns; female gemsbok horns are longer and thinner.
Other species to look for in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Other parks where you can see Gemsbok
Easiest first.
Heading to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park? opspoor shows where Gemsbok have been logged recently and lets you log your own, even with no signal.