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Established in 1898 to protect the wildlife of the South African Lowveld, the national park is nearly 2 million hectares in area.
The Kruger National Park is home to an impressive number of species;
* 336 trees
* 49 fish
* 34 amphibians
* 114 reptiles
* 507 birds
* 147 mammals
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 equally enticing species.
There are 336 tree species in the Kruger National Park.
Five Things To Seek;
1. The Big Five – Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard, Lion and Rhino.
2. The Little Five – Buffalo Weaver, Elephant Shrew, Leopard Tortoise, Ant Lion and Rhino Beetle.
3. Birding Big Six – Ground Hornbill, Kori Bustard, Lappet- faced Vulture, Martial Eagle, Pel’s Fishing Owl and Saddle-bill Stork.
4. Five Trees – Baobab, Fever Tree, Knob Thorn, Marula, Mopane.
5. Natural/Cultural Features – Letaba Elephant Museum, Jock of the Bushveld Route, Albasini Ruins, Maserini Ruins, Stevenson Hamilton Memorial Library, Thulamela.
Climate;
Rainy Season;
The subtropical climate has hot rainy summers starting in October and ending around March. The summer rains transform the arid park into a lush flowering paradise, but the increased foliage does make animals harder to see.
Dry Season;
The winter months from April to September are extremely pleasant with warm dry days and cold nights. Traditionally, the best game viewing is in the winter as the vegetation becomes sparse and water is restricted to rivers and water holes.
Did you know?
1. The surface area of Kruger National Park is 19,633 km˛.
2. The park was first proclaimed in 1898 as the Sabie Game Reserve by the then president of the Transvaal Republic, Paul Kruger.
3. James Stevenson-Hamilton was appointed the park’s first warden on 1 July 1902.
4. On 31 May 1926 the National Parks Act was proclaimed and with it the merging of the Sabie and Shingwedzi Game Reserves into the Kruger National Park.
5. The first motorists entered the park in 1927.
6. There are almost 254 known cultural heritage sites in the Kruger National Park, including nearly 130 recorded rock art sites.
7. There is ample evidence that prehistoric man.
8. More than 300 archaeological sites of Stone Age man have been found.
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