Mountain Zebra National Park introduces two lions from Addo Elephant National Park!

South African National Parks (SANParks) has announced a significant development at Mountain Zebra National Park (MZNP), situated just outside Nxuba (formerly Cradock) in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. On 11 July 2025, two male lions from the nearby Addo Elephant National Park, named Niklaas and Witwarm, were relocated to the National Park as part of SANParks’ ongoing predator management programme.

The lions were initially placed in the Mountain Zebra National Park's bomas to acclimatise to their new environment before being released into the park itself on 29 July 2025. This strategic relocation is part of SANParks’ broader conservation strategy to mimic natural ecological processes, maintain genetic diversity, and ensure balanced predator-prey dynamics in protected areas.

The move comes after the passing of Mountain Zebra National Park's legendary resident male lion, Nomad, who had lived far beyond the average lifespan for wild males. Nomad was humanely euthanised to prevent potential injury or death from confrontations with the newly introduced coalition—an unavoidable risk in the park’s open ecosystem.

By introducing Niklaas and Witwarm, SANParks aims to replicate natural dispersal patterns found in unfenced, free-roaming environments. This approach not only safeguards the long-term health of the lion population but also prevents overpopulation and inbreeding, in line with SANParks’ predator management policy.

Mountain Zebra National Park is currently home to four lionesses, and park management is optimistic that the new males will soon contribute to the next generation of lions. Visitors may have the rare opportunity to witness these magnificent predators as they establish their territory in their new home.

While the loss of Nomad marks the end of an era for regular visitors, the arrival of Niklaas and Witwarm ensures a vibrant and sustainable future for lions in Mountain Zebra National Park.

Also read:  Two male lions relocated to Addo Elephant National Park to strengthen genetic diversity! >>

 

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South African National Parks: Mountain Zebra National Park now offers midday guided game drives!

South African National Parks (SANParks) has introduced an exciting new addition to the activity lineup at Mountain Zebra National Park in South Africa's Eastern Cape - midday guided game drives are now available!
Previously, the SANParks only offered early morning, sunset, and night game drives in the National Park, making it difficult for many day visitors - often traveling long distances - to join a guided safari experience. The new midday option bridges that gap, allowing more guests to enjoy the Mountain Zebra National Park's spectacular wildlife without the need for an overnight stay.
All Mountain Zebra National Park game drives are led by experienced tourist guides and are a top-rated activity among visitors. In addition to game drives, the National Park also offers a range of guided experiences, including guided walks and hikes, visits to ancient San cave paintings and cheetah tracking excursions.
Whether you're planning a quick day trip or a longer stay, Mountain Zebra National Park now offers more ways than ever to connect with nature and explore South Africa's unique wildlife heritage.

Mountain Zebra National Park: Renovations to some Family Cottages set to begin!

South African National Parks (SANParks) has announced that renovations to some of the Family Cottages at the Mountain Zebra Rest Camp in the Mountain Zebra National Park will commence on 29 November 2024. The upgrade is expected to be finished by mid-December 2024. As such, some noise is expected in the Rest Camp during this time.
The Mountain Zebra Rest Camp is located about 12 kilometres from Mountain Zebra National Park's entrance gate and offers comfortable family cottages, a campsite with communal facilities, a restaurant and a shop. The entrance gate to the National Park is located approximately 12 km southwest of Cradock, in South Africa's Eastern Cape. The gate is situated along the R61 road.

Mountain Zebra National Park: Cheetah re-collared to continue tracking efforts!

South African National Parks (SANParks) has announced that cheetah conservation in Mountain Zebra National Park (MZNP) outside Cradock in South Africa's Eastern Cape got a welcomed boost. A new cheetah collar was donated to the National Park, which was fitted to one of the MZNP's resident females. The collar fitted previously was about to reach the end of its life span.
Mountain Zebra National Park is currently home to eight cheetahs. Of these, four are collared. The National Park is the only one in South Africa offering a cheetah tracking activity, and these cheetahs are the ones which are sought out by activity guides through the use of a VHF (very high frequency) telemetry device. If guests are lucky enough, they could get to within 40 metres of one or more cheetah in their natural habitat. They also help MZNP's Management gather ecological data for research purposes which help in the management of the species.
Cheetahs were reintroduced to Mountain Zebra National Park in 2007 after being absent from the plains of the Karoo for 130 years.

South Africa: Annual tariff increase for four National Parks!

South African National Parks (SANParks) has announced the annual tariff increase for Addo Elephant National Park, Camdeboo National Park, Karoo National Park and Mountain Zebra National Park. The entry tariffs for all four National Parks are set to increase on 01 November 2017.

Addo Elephant National Park - new entry fees

• daily conservation fee for adults: R68/person (South African citizens)
• daily conservation fee for childern under 12 years old: R38/person (South African citizens); children under two years old enter for free
• daily conservation fee for adults: R136/person (SADC nationals)
• daily conservation fee for children: R68/person (SADC nationals)
• daily conservation fee for adults: R272/person (international visitors)
• daily conservation fee for children: R136/person (international visitors)
  

Camdeboo National Park - new entry fees

• daily conservation fee for adults: R38/person (South African citizens)
• daily conservation fee for childern under 12 years old: R19/person (South African citizens); children under two years old enter for free
• daily conservation fee for adults: R76/person (SADC nationals)
• daily conservation fee for children: R38person (SADC nationals)
• daily conservation fee for adults: R112/person (international visitors)
• daily conservation fee for children: R56/person (international visitors)

Karoo National Park - new entry fees

• daily conservation fee for adults: R48/person (South African citizens)
• daily conservation fee for childern under 12 years old: R24/person (South African citizens); children under two years old enter for free
• daily conservation fee for adults: R96/person (SADC nationals)
• daily conservation fee for children: R48/person (SADC nationals)
• daily conservation fee for adults: R192/person (international visitors)
• daily conservation fee for children: R96/person (international visitors)

Mountain Zebra National Park - new entry fees

• daily conservation fee for adults: R48/person (South African citizens)
• daily conservation fee for childern under 12 years old: R24/person (South African citizens); children under two years old enter for free
• daily conservation fee for adults: R96/person (SADC nationals)
• daily conservation fee for children: R48/person (SADC nationals)
• daily conservation fee for adults: R192/person (international visitors)
• daily conservation fee for children: R96/person (international visitors)

All funds generated from conservation fees are used with the primary mandate of SANParks which is to oversee the conservation of South Africa's biodiversity, landscapes, seascapes and associated heritage assets through a system of National Parks. Conservation fees are discounted for citizens of South Africa in view of the financially disadvantaged status of the majority of people and the contribution by taxpayers to government funds.

Mountain Zebra National Park welcomes two new lionesses!

Two lionesses have been introduced to South Africa's Mountain Zebra National Park. The two sisters were brought into the National Park, which is situated just outside Cradock in the Eastern Cape, from the Kwandwe Private Game Reserve near Grahamstown. One of the lionesses is fitted with a satellite tracking collar, as they will most likely move together while exploring the Mountain Zebra National Park. The collar will allow park management to monitor them so that rangers and researchers can observe what habitats they use, their proximity to the males and other predators and which species they prey on. The two lionesses are about two years old and are now sharing Mountain Zebra's 28 000 hectares with the two five-year-old male lions. The males were introduced into the National Park in April 2013 – becoming the first free-roaming lions in the area after an absence of over 130 years.

South Africa: Three lions released into Mountain Zebra National Park after 130-year absence

update (06 June 2014): According to South African National Parks (SANParks), the three lion introduced into Mountain Zebra National Park in the Eastern Cape in April 2013 have settled down well in their new home. After their release, the two male lion (brothers) were mostly seen together, while the lioness has been exploring the Mountain Zebra National Park on her own most of the time and only occasionally meeting up with them. Monitoring has also shown that cheetah tended to avoid areas where lion roamed. Although the two species had encountered one another, there appears to have been no major incidents yet, with the cheetah fleeing from the lion when conflict arose. 

The Mountain Zebra National Park in the Eastern Cape is now home to three lions. The lions, one female and two males, are the first lions first free-roaming lions in the area after an absence of over 130 years. They are the third predator species in the Mountain Zebra National Park - cheetahs got already introduced in 2007 and brown hyenas in 2008. The lions are collared so that the management of the National Park can monitor them in the first few months or years after release and so that rangers and researchers can observe what habitats they use and which species they prey on.

Mountain Zebra National Park Manager, Megan Taplin, says the decision to introduce lion into the Park was mainly for biodiversity reasons. "Lions would have occurred here historically and it is SANParks policy to reintroduce the wildlife species which would have occurred in an area before hunting or habitat loss forced them to local extinction in earlier centuries.  They will also occupy the niche of large predator in the ecosystem, keeping the numbers of larger herbivores in the Park in check," said Taplin. (via SANParks)

Kapama Private Game Reserve: Two new cheetahs released into the reserve

The Kapama Private Game Reserve, situated just out of Hoedspruit in South Africa's Limpop province, recently introduced two new cheetahs into the reserve. The animals, a mother and her daughter, are originally from Mountain Zebra National Park in the Eastern Cape, but spend the last year already at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre (HESC), which is located within the Kapama Private Game Reserve.
The Kapama Private Game Reserve spreads from the R40 on the west to the Thornybush boundary to the east, and from the Eastgate Airport road to the north to the Klaserie Dam on the south.
The reserve's 13000 hectares are home to 42 mammal species including the famed 'Big 5' - lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino, and approximately 350 bird species.

Cheetahs relocated from Mountain Zebra NP to Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre

South African National Parks (SANParks) projected in 2010 that some of the cheetahs in its Mountain Zebra National Park might need to be relocated to a different park in near future because the genetic integrity of the cheetah population as well as the park’s ecosystem might otherwise be under certain pressure.

Five cheetahs from the Mountain Zebra National Park population were therefore now relocated to the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre (HESC) in Limpopo as part of their ongoing breeding programme. The cheetahs will remain in quarantine for three months before joining other cheetahs.

The Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre (HESC) focuses on the conservation of rare, vulnerable or endangered animals. Cheetah Conservation is one of their core disciplines. The HESC presents a fascinating insight into rare and vulnerable animal species and animal conservation efforts at large, it offers fun and interactive tours, drives, and excursions. It has a range of accommodation options for visitors looking for a longer stay - an ideal base from which to explore the area.

Mountain Zebra National Park: Cheetah tracking & guided walks

Visitors will be able to join a guide in searching for the elusive Mountain Zebra National Park cheetahs by means of tracking with radio telemetry equipment.
Cheetah were introduced to the Park in 2007 following an absence of over 100 years from the area. The species has adapted very well to the Park, increasing in number from four in 2007 to over 30 animals. A number of cheetah have been rehomed in the last few months to ensure that the integrity of the natural ecosystem balance is not affected.

The new activities include two new guided walks:

• a three-hour route and a hike up the Salpeterskop to view a chessboard relic from the early 1900s.
• Guided walks, cheetah tracking and guided drives are led by fully qualified, knowledgeable guides.

The opening of guided walks follows the closure of all hiking trails in July 2010 following the tragic death of a hiker who was attacked by a buffalo on one of the hiking trails.
The two short walking trails (1-kilometre and 2.5-kilometre trails) are available to visitors as self-walk options, having been enclosed, along with the rest camp area, with electrified fencing.


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The three-day hiking trail has yet to re-open but the two mountain cottages, formerly used exclusively as hiking trail huts, are now available as an ideal rustic getaway option for visitors with high clearance vehicles.
The 28 000-hectare Mountain Zebra National Park is situated near Cradock in the Eastern Cape. (via sanparks.org)

accommodation in the National Park >>

Mountain Zebra National Park: short hiking trails now fenced and re-opened

The two short hiking trails in the Mountain Zebra National Park (MZNP) have re-opened to visitors following their closure in mid July 2010 after a fatal incident between a hiker and a buffalo bull. The 1-kilometre Imbila Hiking Trail and 2.5-kilometre Black Eagle Hiking Trail, which start and end at the rest camp area, have re-opened after fencing of the entire rest camp area and the short hiking trail area.


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The fence encloses the cottages, reception area, swimming pool, camping ground and the two short hiking trails. The electrified fence was constructed at a low level in front of the cottages so that it will not interfere with the scenic view from the accommodation units. [src.]

accommodation in Cradock >>

Mountain Zebra National Park: New gate, new roads and future plans

The Mountain Zebra National Park, near Cradock in the Eastern Cape recently celebrated the opening of their new upgraded entrance gate - now named the Sasol Gate - and the complete renovation of its tourist roads. Around 43km of of existing gravel roads got upgraded and 13.4km of new roads were built, so that visitors can now explore all areas of the Park for wildlife viewing on roads suitable for all vehicle types.

According to Lucius Moolman, South African National Parks (SANParks) Regional Manager, plans to link Mountain Zebra National Park to Camdeboo National Park in Graaff-Reinet to form a mega-conservation area of about 300 000 hectares had now been officially declared by SANParks. These plans envisaged a linkage formed through contractual agreements with private game reserves and landowners, some of whom had already expressed interest in the idea.

accommodation in & around Cradock >>
accommodation in & around Graaf-Reinet >>