The Seaview Game Park is situated about 25 km west from the Port Elizabeth city centre. It offers close up viewing of more than 40 species of wildlife including Giraffe, Zebra, Wildebeest, Impala, Duiker, Monkey, Crocodile, Rock Monitor, Meerkat, Jackal, Lynx and Baboon. Every Sunday at noon you can view the feeding of the lions.

Lions are very social felines and live in prides consisting of one or two males, up to seven females and 14 or 15 cubs of different ages. Pride are territorial and intruders are warned off by roaring. They have strong, compact bodies and powerful forelegs, teeth, and jaws for pulling down and killing prey. The female normally does all the hunting, usually at night, late afternoon or early morning. Their coats are yellow-gold, and adult males have long, dark, shaggy manes. Young lions have light spotting on their coats.

It is estimated that there are fewer than 300 white lions in the world. We have been fortunate to have seen the birth of 3 white lion cubs at Seaview Game Park. White lions are not albino as they have pigmentation which can be seen particularly in eye, paw pad and lip colour. The correct term for their condition is leucism, a state where there is near-normal eye colour, but loss of pigment in the skin and fur. Because the gene is recessive and is masked by the normal tawny colour, white lions remain rare in the wild and only occur when two lions carrying the mutant gene are mated together.

The Red Hartebeest is one of the antelope that can be viewed at Seaview Game Park. Hartebeest normally occur in small groups of 20 or less. Herds comprise a dominant bull controlling females, their off-spring and younger bulls. Vicious fighting, especially during the rut, takes place between bulls. Hartebeest are more active during the cool temperatures of early morning and evening and during cold winter days will remain active for most of the day. The Red Hartebeest is found in the wild in the grassland and savannah areas of the dry central and north-west regions of South Africa.

The tallest of land mammals the giraffe can stand up to 5.5m tall and weigh as much as 1,900kg. A baby giraffe has a 2m drop when it is born and lands on its head! Giraffes also have slightly elongated forelegs, about 10% longer than their hind legs. Giraffes eat the leaves of a variety of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. Acacia species are among their favorites. An adult giraffe may consume up to 60kg of foliage a day. Amazingly they sleep for about 12 minutes a day and have only seven vertebrae in the neck (the usual number for a mammal) that are elongated.

That perennial children's favourite, the monkey, can be seen all over the park. The lush bush area is perfectly suited to them. They grow to about 60 cm in height and are mainly vegetarian although they will eat insects, eggs and baby birds. Their antics will keep the children amused while you enjoy some refreshments in the restaurant.

You can visit the official Seaview Game Park website if you want more information.