Search Animals found in the greater Kruger Park area
Mammals
Kruger is one of the premier game-watching destinations in the world. Approximately 145 mammal species occur in the park. It is possible to see all the classical African big game, including elephant, black and white rhino, hippopotamus, giraffe, zebra, buffalo, warthog and many antelope species. Large carnivores include lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog and spotted hyena. There are also many smaller mammals species which are equally as enticing.
For an efficient management and conservation policy, accurate information must be available about the number of animals in the area to be managed or conserved. To this end the Nature Conservation staff at Skukuza annually survey the whole Kruger Park in a helicopter and light aircraft, taking counts of all the major game species and also observing the conditions of animals and vegetation in each area. In this way any sharp rises or decreases in population are soon noticed, and the cause or causes can be ascertained. Using the information gathered over a number of years, a pattern can also be established giving the general distribution and abundance of the various species.
In the following section, I have dealt with each mammal species separately for convenience and easy reference. However, it cannot be over-emphasized that no species exists independently of others in nature. Each animal, each species, forms part of a food web where it eats other species of plants or animals, and, in turn, other animals feed on it. There is a constant dynamic interaction between the various animals. Any sudden fluctuation in the numbers of one species is likely to set up a ripple effect, which will influence a large number of others in the food-web.
In describing the distribution of each animal species, I often refer to the south, central and northern areas of the Park. The southern section is the area between the Sabie and Crocodile rivers; the central area between the Sabie and Olifants rivers; whilst the northern area is that north of the Olifants river up to the Limpopo.
All the larger mammals and most of the smaller ones likely to be seen by visitors are discussed. The rats, bats, and some of the very rare mongoose species are not referred to, as they are unlikely to be spotted. For those who have a particular interest in these diminutive denizens of the veld — of which no less than 102 species have been recorded in the Park — an excellent guidebook by Pienaar, Rautenbach and De Graaff (1980), The Small Mammals of the Kruger National Park, is available in all the larger camps.
Reptiles and other creepy "crawlies"
Unfortunately, man has always rather disdained, even disliked, the reptile world. Perhaps this is because of the scaly, stealthy and secretive appearance and habits of these creatures, as well as the poisonous nature of some. Nevertheless, reptiles are a very large and fascinating group with a very important position and role in the general web of life. They help substantially to maintain that delicate balance so critical for survival of all life. Secretive and quiet they may be, but they are largely responsible for containing the populations of small animals such as rats, mice and birds at a level which the environment can support. They help also to control the teeming millions of insects which so abundantly inhabit our planet. In turn, reptiles are preyed on by many species of birds and mammals.
Reptiles — including snakes, lizards, tortoises, terrapins and crocodiles — differ from birds and mammals in that they are unable to generate body heat internally, and thus maintain a temperature above that of their environment. Thus on cold days they are sluggish, and in colder countries they are forced to hibernate. This is why reptiles so often bask in the sun: to warm their bodies and speed up their metabolism. Unlike most amphibians, such as frogs, they are not restricted to water for breeding, but have evolved to a stage where they produce eggs covered by protective membranes and a shell which prevents the fragile embryo from drying out. The eggs are generally laid in the soil or on land, although some snakes and lizards retain the eggs within their bodies until they hatch, then give birth to live young.
In his excellent guide-book on the reptiles of the Kruger Park, Pienaar (1982) states that there are 114 different species occurring in the area, made up of 58 lizard species, 50 different snakes, five types of tortoises and terrapins, and a single crocodile species. Some of the more important or abundant species are...snakes
Scaly, stealthy and secretive appearance and habits of these creatures, as well as the poisonous nature of some. They help substantially to maintain that delicate balance of nature. Of the reptiles, there are 114 different species occurring in the area, made up of 58 lizard species, 50 different snakes, five types of tortoises and terrapins, and a single crocodile species.
Small creatures — together with insects, ticks, mites, crustacea and a few others — share certain characteristics which make them close relatives of each other and allow them to be grouped together as the Arthropoda. The arthropods are so numerous that they comprise about four-fifths of some 1,25 million animal species known to man. Most of these are insects, which are described in a later section.
All these arthropods have several pairs of jointed legs arranged along the sides of the body. Another shared character is that they have a tough skin, or cuticle, made up of a substance called chitin. Un like humans, who have an internal bony framework, these animals have a fairly rigid skin as a skeleton to which all the muscles are attached. The skin also protects them against the hot, drying rays of the sun, allowing them to move into the open to hunt and search for mates.
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