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Exploratory Paper Found No Direct Evidence of Sambar Browsing Fynbos on Table Mountain

Female sambar in natural habitat
Research · Ecology

An exploratory study of the non-native sambar (Rusa unicolor) population on Table Mountain combined international research with citizen observations from Cape Town, South Africa’s urban edge. The paper found no direct evidence in the available local observations that sambar were browsing fynbos species, while stressing that their ecological effects on Table Mountain have not yet been studied systematically.

Sambar have been present around Table Mountain for more than a century. Historical records cited in the study describe them as running wild in unknown numbers by 1905–1911, and more recent records place them around Orange Kloof, Hout Bay, Oudekraal and Camps Bay. As of 25 February 2026, the author found 22 sambar observations on iNaturalist, most of them indirect records such as tracks, droppings or damage to trees. Photographs, videos and reports supplied by residents added observations of behaviour and movements.

Reported sambar observations around Table Mountain and Cape Town
Reported sambar observations around Table Mountain, including local photographs from Lion’s Head, Camps Bay, Bakoven, Hout Bay and the 12 Apostles area. Figure 3 from Nattrass (2026), Journal of Urban Ecology, CC BY 4.0.

Local observations showed browsing on invasive trees, not fynbos

The local material included sambar browsing invasive Acacia saligna and stripping bark from Acacia mearnsii, as well as damage to pine trees. The only photographs the paper found of sambar browsing within fynbos areas showed animals feeding on bitou bush (Osteospermum moniliferum) and imphepho (Helichrysum petiolare); the author notes that neither is a fynbos species. One stag identifiable by a broken antler was photographed grazing near Camps Bay and later browsing near the 12 Apostles Hotel, indicating movement across about four kilometres of the Oudekraal area.

The paper was written in the context of management efforts to remove non-native herbivores from Table Mountain National Park. Author Nicoli Nattrass argues that the present evidence is insufficient to determine whether sambar have an overall harmful, neutral or potentially beneficial ecological effect, and presents browsing of encroaching woody vegetation as a hypothesis that still needs testing. The study calls for direct research on population size, diet, habitat use and ecological impacts before the species’ role on Table Mountain can be assessed more securely.

Sources and image credit

  1. Nattrass, N. (2026). Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor) on Table Mountain, Cape Town: Rethinking the role of a non-native species in an urban-curated ecosystem. Journal of Urban Ecology, 12(1), juag010. https://doi.org/10.1093/jue/juag010Primary open-access research article published 31 March 2026. It combines international literature with citizen-science observations and local photographs and reports. As of 25 February 2026, 22 iNaturalist observations were available, most indirect. The paper reports no direct local evidence of sambar browsing fynbos species and argues that their net ecological role remains unresolved without systematic research.

Image: Dey.sandip / Wikimedia Commons — female sambar photographed in Tadoba National Park, India; representative species image, not a deer from the Table Mountain observations. · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

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