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Loyal to our rule that on this web site we can only show you pictures that actually have been taken on the land of farm 215, we cannot show you any pictures of animals that are either too shy or too quick for the taste of our camera. It does not mean that the animal life on farm 215 is restricted, far from it. Nevertheless, the chances of spotting animals are not good for - say - a noisy couple, walking on
farm 215.

In any case, 6 different species of antelopes and 12 other mammal species (not counting the numerous rodent species other than the porcupine) have been confirmed to occur on the land of farm 215. Of all the mammals, only a few allow the humans to spot them on occasion in real life. But both the Caracal and the Large spotted genet are quite regularly seen where we do not really want to see them: close to the chicken coup.

Depending on the time of the year, a big troop of about 50 Chacma baboons can be seen in the hills of farm 215. They regularly sleep in the trees under the waterfall on farm 215 or in a patch of indigenous forest in one of the kloofs, preyed upon by their biggest enemy, the Cape leopard. Of the antelopes, the small Cape grysbok ("grys" is Afrikaans for grey, though the Cape grysbok is actually kind of red) is most likely to be seen, mostly late afternoon. The cape grysbok is endemic to the fynbos biome of the Western Cape. Since both properties making up farm 215 has been changed into a reserve, a pair of Klipspringers are seen more and more on the rocky slopes behind the guesthouse, successfully raising one young each year. Of the carnivores, the large grey mongoose can fairly often be seen on roads and in other open spaces.

Some reptiles (of which there are more than 20 species of farm 215) have a higher visibility. A multitude of rock agamas has a continuous presence around the house as well as the red sided skink. Both tortoise species, the Angulate tortoise and the Parrot beaked tortoise are regularly seen and one of the roads on the farm is for some reason a favourite place for combat between Angulate tortoise males during mating season. This noisy fight can continue forever and the aim is to overturn the other. Both the smaller parrot beaked tortoise and the Angulate tortoise (up to 30 cm) are endemic to the cape coastal regions. High on rocky outcrops, too steep for any tortoise to climb, one can often find empty tortoise shells, the result of a tortoise kill by a raptor or a crow.

We could write a bit about the minimum of 10 species of snake crawling around on farm 215, but we have been advised that this is highly non-commercial. Still, though there are indeed poisonous snakes amongst them, participating in traffic is a much riskier activity than walking barefoot in The Overberg without looking down.

Though the first remark of many guests on their arrival is "it is so silent here", it is absolutely not silent. Depending on the season, various species of frogs and toads chirp, click, quack, snore and bleat almost continuously. The Overberg is frog country and various species are endemic, such as the small Arum lily reed frog that is especially common in the wetlands on farm 215 and the vulnerable Rose's toad.

Several nature reserves in the area, such as De Hoop Nature Reserve, Bontebok National Park and nearby Salmonsdam Nature Reserve boast a multitude of bigger animals as well, such as leopard, eland, red hartebeest, cape mountain zebra and -of course- the bontebok, endemic to the Western Cape. The coastal plains between Gansbaai and Cape Agulhas used to be the "Serengeti of the Western Cape". Only a few hundred years ago, cape lion, guagga (extinct), bluebuck (extinct), eland, and hartebeest shared the Agulhas Plains in vast numbers with elephant, hippopotamus and rhinoceros. The Overberg is increasingly conservation-minded and the creation of new national park in the Overberg with an expansive policy, the Agulhas National Park, will one day lead to the re-introduction to the Overberg of more of the species that once were so widespread in the Overberg and the Western Cape.
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