The Big 5 Of Kruger National Park

Why? Because in the past these animals were most wanted for their ivory, horns and skins, but today they're just wanted for photographs and nice viewing. :-)

Lions

You'll need to look carefully for lions. Their light yellow-brown colour blends in well with the bush and makes them difficult to see. Sometimes vultures circling in the air can indicate that lions are below them hunting.

Lions are lazy though. When they're not hunting, they are lying down, making them harder to see. There are also only about 1,500 of them, which makes your chances of seeing one smaller.

Elephants

On the other hand, elephants are the easiest to see of the big five. Kruger National Park has around 12,000 of them! Plus it's hard to miss a great majestic elephant lumbering close to you! If you only spend a day in the park you're almost guaranteed to see an elephant.

Elephants are the largest land animal and can make the vehicle you're travelling in seem very small! Be careful around them.

Buffalos

Buffalo are tough animals. They look like placid grazing animals, but they're very strong and have sharp horns.

Although there are only 2,500 of them in the park, they seem to be everywhere. They usually stay together in herds, some of which are made up of hundreds of buffalo. You might have to wait a while for a buffalo herd to cross the road in front of you.

Rhinos

There are two types of rhinos in Kruger National Park. Black rhinos and white rhinos.

There are around 5,000 of the square-lipped white rhinos, but black rhinos with their pointed lips are far rarer. There are only about 350 of them! If you spend a couple of days in the park, there's a good chance that you'll see a white rhino.

Leopards

Leopards are the hardest of the Kruger National Park big five to find and the sleekest hunters in the bush. We once spent a week in the park and only saw one leopard 20 minutes before leaving! There are 1,000 leopards in the park though.

Seeing a leopard will come down to being in the right place at the right time.

Return from Big 5 to Kruger National Park Wildlife

Return from Big 5 to Kruger National Park