Cape Town’s urban animals

South Africa’s Big Five are often seen as the main attraction when it comes to wildlife — but you’ll find plenty of smaller critters right here in the Mother City, too. [written February 24, 2015]

An agama lizard basks in the sun at the base of Table Mountain. All images by Stuart Buchanan

’Tis the season when caterpillar larvae are seen along the walls of houses around Cape Town. Wait long enough, and you’ll be treated to the sight of newly-emerged Twin Dotted Border butterflies (Mylothris rueppellii)

Other insects are already busying themselves with the full-time job of pollination, as this bee demonstrates in the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden

The Two Oceans Aquarium houses one of only three kelp forests in the world. This tranquil site is also the home of some Northern rockhopper penguins

The Hartlaub’s or King gull (Chroicocephalus hartlaubi) is spotted in Green Point

A sunbird takes flight near Tafelberg Road

A visit to the Company’s Garden is not complete without spotting a grey squirrel scuttling by

Egyptian geese can be seen at parks, and near ponds, throughout Cape Town

A dragonfly comes to rest on the grass

Red-winged starling are common in Cape Town, and can often get quite close

Cape white-eye enjoy the pincushion flowers at Kirstenbosch

This chicken is a resident of Spier Wine Estate and roams the farm freely

Endangered African penguins are an unusual sight in most places, but not at Boulders Beach

The enduring dassie (hyrax) — now an icon of local Cape Town wildlife — is often spotted at the summit of Table Mountain

A mongoose enjoys the final rays of sun on Signal Hill

Originally published at www.southafrica.net on February 24, 2015.