Kruger National Park Elephants
Experience Their Majesty

Elephants move with a majesty fitting for the ancient species they are. They are the largest land animals in the world and a symbol of safaris in Africa.

They are one of the big 5, traditionally the most sought after hunting trophies (the other four are lions, buffalos, rhinos and leopards). Their ivory tusks were prized. Today, everyone can enjoy watching an elephant. Kruger National Park is their sanctuary.

Elephants are very intelligent and are famous for their excellent memories. They graze in herds ranging from a few to over a hundred in number.

Sometimes when an elephant steps behind a tree it vanishes! How can such a big animal disappear? Easy. The legs look like tree trunks and leaves hide the elephant's body! This also means you may be very close to an elephant without knowing it!

Take Care Around Elephants

Scared of being stampeded? Don't be. Avoiding aggressive elephants is easy. We've learnt from experience that elephants may be aggressive if:

• You're in the their territory
• There are elephant calves nearby
• They're in a bad mood

Approaching Elephants

If we're in our car and we spot an elephant close by (within 25 metres of the direction we're travelling) we approach slowly. We don't toot our horn. We watch the elephant's behaviour.

Is it grazing for food? Is it walking away from us? If it's grazing or walking away we continue slowly.

Is the elephant walking towards us quickly? Does it look aggressive? Did it make a trumpeting noise? These are danger signs, especially if it is a male elephant. We drive away from the elephant immediately.

If our car is facing the elephant, we don't turn it around. We just reverse until we're in the clear. Luckily for game viewers, most elephant aggression is a warning only. But do heed the warning.

If we stop to watch elephants where there are other cars, we position our car so that we can drive away promptly. This gives us a clear escape path if an aggressive elephant approaches. We don't want to be in a traffic jam when we need to get away in a hurry!

If we come across only female elephants with calves, they will generally not be aggressive when they see us. They will want to shepherd their calf away from the car.

There are over 11,000 Kruger National Park elephants! You can't miss them. Even if you blink ;-)

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