Mammals

The mammals of the Mpushini and Mkhondeni River catchments

The Mpushini and Mkhondeni River catchments are home to a large number of mammal species. These range from the larger herbivores, through the medium-sized predators, down to the small mice, bats and shrews. All are important to the well-being of the biodiversity of our region.

The following is a list of all of the mammal species that have been recorded in the area. For detailed descriptions of these species, click on the species scientific name.

Leopard	Panthera pardus	They prey on anything from a mouse to mammals up to twice their size. They have food preferences such as bushpig, impala and some take porcupines.
Caracal	Felix caracal	They prey on birds, mammals and reptiles.
Aardwolf	Proteles cristatus	They are entirely insectivorous, devouring mainly termites, although they will sometimes eat moths and other insects.
Black-backed Jackal	Canis mesomelas	Their diet is varied with most of their food being from vertebrates and some from invertebrates. Their vertebrate prey includes rats and mice, hares, duikers, mongooses and some reptiles. The invertebrates that they consume are mainly grasshoppers and crickets as well as flying ants. They also eat carion.
Large Spotted Genet	Genetta tigrina	They prey on a wide variety of small animals and birds, including rats, mice, crabs, fresh-water mussels, insects, and birds including poultry.
White-tailed Mongoose	Ichneumia albicauda	Prey on small rodents, game birds, frogs and reptiles. They also eat insects, cane rats and hares. They also raid poultry runs.
Large Grey Mongoose	Herpestes ichneumon	They are powerful diggers and will excavate at thejbase of dead trees and in debris to find beetles and other prey. They will also kill and eat lizards and snakes. They also eat fish , crabs and frogs. They also take birds and poultry.
Water Mongoose	Atilax palundinosus	The major portion of their diet are amphibians, including frogs and crabs. They also hunt vlei rats and mice.
Slender Mongoose	Galerella sanguinea	Their main source of food are insects with grasshoppers and termites predominating although they also take beetles , lizards, small birds and eggs.
Cape Clawless Otter	Aonyx capensis	Their food, in order of preference, includes crabs, fish, frogs, water birds, reptiles and small mammals.
Striped Weasel	Poecilogale albinucha	They are carnivorous and prey on small rodents, chickens and birds.

Vervet Monkey	Cercopithecus aethiops	They are mainly vegetarians living on wild fruits, flowers, leaves, seeds and seed pods. They also eat some insects such as termites and flying ants
Thick-tailed Bushbaby	Otolemur crassicaudatus	They live almost exclusively on fruit and the gum that seeps from trees of the Acacia species. They will also eat some insects such as moths, grasshoppers and crickets.

Scrub Hare	Lepus saxatilis	They live on the leaves, rhizomes and stems of the grasses.

Eland	Taurotragus oryx	They are primarily browser but they are partial to fresh young grass after a fire.
Kudu	Tragelaphus strepsiceros	They are predominantly browsers although they will occasionally eat young grass shoots. They require a large territory.
Nyala	Tragelaphus angasii	They are predominantly browsers living on the leaves, twigs, flowers and fruits of a wide variety of plants. If young green grass is available they will graze on it.
Bushbuck	Tragelaphus scriptus	They are closely associated with riverine or other types of underbrush near water supplies. They must have wide corridors in order to move from bushveld areas to riverine areas in winter. They are predominantly browsers on lower plants.
Impala	Aepyceros melampus melampus	They are associated with light open woodland containing Acacia species. They both browse on trees and forbs and graze on grass, preferring it fairly short (50 -200mm). They must be allowed sufficient space in which to form herds of breeding females and batchelor herds consisting of males.
Common Reedbuck	Redunca arundinum	They have specialised habitat requirements in the form of tall grass or reed beds and a good water supply. These requirements are found in vleis and in grassland near streams and drainage areas. They are almost exclusively grazers. They are not attracted to fresh sprouting grass.
Grey Duiker	Sylvicapra grimmia	The presence of bush is an essential habitat requirement providing shade in which to rest during the day and leaves, twigs, flowers and fruit of a wide variety of trees, forbs and shrubs on which to browse. They will find food in the fringes of thickly forested areas but will avoid the forests themselves.
Blue Duiker	Philanthomba monticola	They are specialised in their habitat requirements and are confined to densely forested areas. They are browsers of the shoots and leaves of low-growing plants. They are extremely timid creatures and will not tolerate any disturbance of their habitat.

Burchell’s or Plains Zebra	Equus quagga or E. burchelli	They are gregarious and live in family groups. They are predominantly grazers of a wide variety of grasses and herbs.
Blue Wildebeeste	Connochaetes taurinus	They are associated with savanna woodland where water is available. They are grazers with a preference for short lawn-like grass.
Bushpig	Potamochoerus porcus	They are predominantly nocturnal. They wallow in mud and therefore are never far from water. They root with their snouts and tend to feed in damp areas for bulbs, tubers and the rhizomes of grasses.
Tomb Bat	Taphozous mauritianus	They are insectivorous.
Sundevall's Leaf-nosed Bat	Hipposideros caffer	They are insectivorous.
Egyptian Free-tailed Bat _______________________ Common or Egyptian Slit-faced Bat	Tadarida aegyptiaca ______________________ Nycteris thebaica	They are insectivorous. _______________________________________ They are insectivorous.
Geoffroy's Horse-shoe Bat	Rhinolophus clivosus	They are insectivorous.
Schreiber's Long-fingered Bat	Miniopterus schreibersii	They are insectivorous.
Cape Serotine Bat	Eptesicus capensis	They are insectivorous.
Temminck's Hairy Bat	Myotis tricolor	They are insectivorous.
Kuhl's Bat	Pipistrellus kuhlii	They are insectivorous.
Yellow House Bat	Scotophilus dinganii	They are insectivorous.
Peter’s Epauletted Fruit Bat	Epomophorus crypturus	Feed on most soft and pulpy fruits.
Egyptian Fruit Bat	Rousettus aegyptiacus	Feed on most pulpy fruit e.g wild figs.

Porcupine	Hystrix africeaustralis	They are predominantly vegetarians although they have been recorded eating the flesh of carrion. Food includes bulbs, tubers and roots. They are also fond of fallen fruits and they gnaw on the bark of some trees particularly the alien Syringa.
Spectacled Dormouse	Graphiurus ocularis	Mainly insectivorous. (Note: These animals have only been observed on the Pieterse’s Izebushez property and on Nyala Place.)
Greater Cane Rat	Thryonomys swinderianus	They are vegetarians feeding on the roots, shoots and stems of grasses and reeds. They are particularly fond of the stems of Rhodes grass (Chlorus gayana), Couch Grass (Cyanodon dactylon), Swamp Couch Grass (Hemarthia altissima), Antelope Grass (Echtnochloa pyramidalis), Pennisetum purpureum and Panicum maximum. They also feed on the exotic Sugar Cane and Napier Fodder if they are available.
Woodland Dormouse	Graphiurus murinus	They feed on the outer skin of the fruit of the Buffalo Thorn (Ziziphus mucronata) and also on insects such as large moths and beetles.
Namaqua Rock Mouse	Aethomys namaquensis	They feed on grass and other seeds.
Four-striped Field Mouse	Rhabdomys pumilio	They are predominantly graminivorous although their diet changes seasonally. They also eat insects and other small mice. They feed on the outside husks of the Buffalo Thorn (Ziziphus mucronata), the Raisin Bush (Grewia species) and the pods of Acacia trees.
Single-Striped Mouse	Lemniscomys griselda	They feed on grass and other seeds.
Pouched Mouse	Saccostomus campestris	They pack their food in their cheek pouches to take back to their burrow. Their food is predominantly the larger seeds of forbs, bushes and trees. Seeds that have been found in their burrows include the Acacia species, Torchwood (Balanites maughamii), Raisin Bush (Grewia species), Bush Willow (Combretum species), the Sickle Bush (Dichrostachys cinerea) and Blue Guarri (Euclea crispa). A small amount of grass seed is also eaten.
Pigmy Mouse	Mus minutoides	The eat some green vegetable matter but their main diet is grass seeds, insects and termites.
Multimammate Mouse	Mastomys natalensis	They are omnivorous. Their diet includes grass and other seeds, dried Acacia pods, and the dry pulpy exterior of wild fruits. They also feed on insects including termites, grasshoppers, and Coleoptera. They are also carnivorous.
House Mouse	Mus musculus	They are omnivorous. They frequently feed on moths, weevils, spiders, earthworms, snails, fly larvae, ticks, aphids and mites as well as any seeds and plant food that is available.
Grey Climbing Mouse	Dendromus melanotis	They will eat seeds but are predominantly insectivorous eating termites, grasshoppers, crickets, small beetles and moths.
Brant's Climbing Mouse	Dendromus mesomelas	They eat grass seeds and insects.
Water Rat	Dasymys incomtus	They are predominantly vegetarians living on the succulent stems and fruiting heads of sem-aquatic grasses, reeds, and other vegetation. They will also eat insects.
House Rat	Rattus rattus	They are omnivorous.
Red Veld Rat	Aethomys chrysophilus	They feed on grass seeds as well as the dry outer layer of berries such as the Raisin Bush (Grewia species), Buffalo Thorn (Ziziphus mucronata) and Acacia pods.