Want to know where and when to find Gemsbok? opspoor shows recent sightings across South Africa's parks and when each species is usually active.
Where to see Gemsbok in South Africa
Easiest first. Pick a park for when and where to look there.
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.
Did you know?
Gemsbok can go without drinking, getting water from tsamma melons, wild cucumbers and dug-up roots, and can let their body temperature climb to about 45 °C to save water. Their spear-like horns are formidable enough to injure or even kill lions.
Also known as: Gemsbuck, South African Oryx
Planning a safari? Pick a park above to see when and where to look for Gemsbok, and log your own sightings in opspoor, even with no signal.