What animals are the Big Five?

· Lion
· Leopard
· Elephant
· Rhino
· Buffalo

Why is the Big Five called the BIG FIVE?

In the olden days, hunters were hunting on foot and they referred to the above-mentioned animals as the Big Five due to the difficulty in hunting them on foot. These Big Five animals are extremely dangerous and it was considered a feat by trophy hunters to bring them home.
Today, however, the expression takes on a gentler form, referring to seeing the Big Five —not shooting them— during wildlife safaris in Africa.

Alternative BIG FIVE post that you may be interested in:

Read more about the king of the jungle, the African Lion, the elusive leopard, the majestic African Elephant, the always grumpy by nature Cape buffalo and last but certainly not least the extremely endangered rhino.

Does Kruger National Park have the BIG FIVE animals?

The Kruger is a magical place indeed and is home to the iconic Big Five animals.

Even though the Kruger National Park has a ground coverage of two million hectares, (approximately the size of the country Israel) and stretching 360 km (223.694 miles) from the north to the south and 90km (55.9234 miles) from the east to the west, you can expect to encounter all of the Big Five animals in Kruger when you are on safari.

Of course, luck has to be on your side to find at least some of the Big Five during your visit to the Kruger National Park, perhaps, who knows? Maybe you even find all of the Big Five!

Is it guaranteed to see the Big Five animals of Kruger whilst on a guided safari with an open safari vehicle?

As mentioned above, luck has to be on your side to find the Big Five animals. It can certainly be challenging at times, but it is not impossible.
If you take the size of the Kruger National Park into account, you are very privileged to find any of the Big Five during your safari. Nothing in the Kruger National Park is guaranteed! Remember, it is not a zoo!

African Elephants in Kruger National Park

People and Elephants in Kruger National Park

We all know why the African elephant is part of the Big Five; yes, of course, they are BIG and fit into the Big Five title very well. Aside from their size, they are very dangerous indeed, never forget that!

Some people underestimate the speed, power, and size of these great giants. Elephants are adored by many people worldwide and symbolize good luck, wisdom and protection. Do not get me started on the adorable and cuddly baby elephants! I mean who could not love them?

Some people forget just how dangerous elephants are, especially if you don’t know how to approach them. Yes, there is a specific way to approach certain species, for your safety as well as theirs. Always respect all animals, especially, and I emphasize especially African Elephants. Elephants are much bigger than us humans and the cars that we drive.

The following was written by a Field Guide working in Kruger National Park:

We all know why the African elephant is part of the Big Five; yes, of course, they are BIG and fit into the Big Five title very well. Aside from their size, they are very dangerous indeed, never forget that!

Some people underestimate the speed, power, and size of these great giants. Elephants are adored by many people worldwide and symbolize good luck, wisdom and protection. Do not get me started on the adorable and cuddly baby elephants! I mean who could not love them?

Some people forget just how dangerous elephants are, especially if you don’t know how to approach them. Yes, there is a specific way to approach certain species, for your safety as well as theirs. Always respect all animals, especially, and I emphasize especially African Elephants. Elephants are much bigger than us humans and the cars that we drive.

As a Field Guide in Kruger National Park, I have many years of experience taking guests on safaris in Kruger. I have witnessed numerous close encounters with elephants, involving private people visiting Kruger. Some people revving their engines, some people “box in” elephants, or block their right of way, they even block a game path with an elephant approaching them, some people rush into a breeding herd of elephants, where there are young calves with overprotective mothers, some people push the boundaries with bull elephants in musth (for whatever reason I do not know! Perhaps ignorance or just plain stupidity), some people even get the basics wrong, which is to: keeping the distance in mind when you stop behind someone at a herd of elephants, or a single elephant. Some people stop so close to the person in the car in front of them that there is no room to move if an angry elephant starts to charge! The list of dumb people with elephants is endless, I should write a book, titled dump people & elephants or something like that!

If you are brave enough to go on a self-drive to Kruger, I would suggest that you read and memorize the following post – How to safely approach elephants

Your first elephant encounter in Kruger

I can assure you, you will never forget the picture, the feelings and emotions you experience when coming across your first herd of African Elephants or a loner bull elephant. It is an absolute pleasure to gaze upon these majestic giants. It is an even greater privilege to get to sit and watch how a herd swiftly and silently pass you by, watch how they graze, listen to how they chew, breathe and communicate with each other. This is truly a sight that you will treasure for as long as you live.

I have been going to the Kruger National Park ever since I can remember, and I have spent many hours guiding as a Field Guide in Kruger. The thing that still excites me today is the fact that you learn so much from them whilst sitting and watching a herd of elephant minding their own business (don’t be mistaken, they do acknowledge your presence). Literally every time I encounter a herd and I have the privilege to sit and watch them (if they let me), I learn something new from them every time. Books teach you many things, but in nature, you learn what some books don’t even know yet.

The African Elephant is truly a unique specimen and everyone should experience a guided safari in Kruger National Park with an open safari vehicle at least once in your life. This will hopefully give you that once in a lifetime experience with the elephants, if that is the will of the bush. Africa is filled with possibilities, memories that are yet to be made, treasures that are yet to be discovered and lessons that still need to be learned from your time spent in Africa and Kruger National Park.

Finding lions in Kruger National Park

Rocks can find lions! Crazy, but true!

Believe it or not!!! Rocks, yes rocks can direct you to where the lions in the Kruger National Park can be found. You may think this is absolutely ludicrous, but in fact, it is very true.

If you think about rock, you should keep in mind how the rock was formed. The rocks that form Earth’s crust are continually destroyed and remade in an endless process called the rock cycle. Rock is formed by melting; by cooling and solidifying; by changing through heat and pressure; by weathering and erosion and by compression and cementation.

When the rock breaks down by weathering and erosion:

Weathering is the process where rock is dissolved, worn away or broken down into smaller and smaller pieces.
Erosion happens when rocks and sediments are picked up and moved to another place by ice, water, wind or gravity. Mechanical weathering physically breaks up the rock.

When rocks break down, it forms soil. Soil is the upper layer of earth in which plants grow, a black or dark brown material typically consisting of a mixture of organic remains, clay and rock particles. You get different types of soil, for example, coarse-grained, fine-grained and so on…
Now we are getting to the good stuff; Vegetation (plants, shrubs, trees etc.) considered collectively, especially those found in a particular area or habitat, need soil to grow.

So, let’s break it down: The type of soil determines the type of vegetation that will dominate or flourish in the specific area/habitat, the vegetation in term will determine what animals you will find that favors that specific type of vegetation.

Remember you also get mix-feeders, bulk-feeders, grazers and browsers. These animals that are attracted to this type of vegetation will attract specific predators. This is how rocks can show you where to find predators, specifically lions.
Remember, if there is a dense population of let’s say, antelope, there will be predators like lion and leopard. Lions can be in a home range, defending the immediate territory they are occupying for a long period, depending on the density and availability of food and water. If the area has a high volume of animals, home ranges of pride of lion will overlap.

If the area is less populated, the lion will have a larger home range, to get more prey. In the case of Kruger, lion and leopards are spread throughout the park; you just need to be lucky enough to find them close enough to the road to see them.

The best way to find a lion in the Kruger National Park

The best way to find lions in the Kruger National Park is with an experienced field guide and on the back of an open safari vehicle. Field Guides are trained, you don’t just guide people in the Kruger, you have to have a legal Field Guiding qualification that is quite hard to obtain. Besides the qualification, the Field Guides have vast knowledge of Kruger National Park, they know where to find certain species in certain areas of Kruger, they know the rules and regulations as well as the safety issues involved with a safari in Kruger.

Field Guides have hands-on experience in the bush, and know how to safely approach certain species. Going on a safari with a field guide will increase your chance to find more animals, and the guides can give you more insight into every animal you find. They will surely provide you with an experience you will never forget.
The Field Guide is good at timekeeping and route planning, best of all they will point things out that you would have otherwise have missed on your own and they will give you a deeper understanding about everything in Kruger.

Always respect your Field Guide and listen to them. Most importantly, book your guided safari with an open safari in the Kruger National Park with Lion Roar Safaris TODAY!

Experience your first lion encounter in Kruger National Park on safari

Experience the first encounter with the powerful king of the jungle; namely the lion. You can watch as much Animal Planet, Planet Earth or Discovery Channel as you like, finding your first lion is the hardest, especially if your eyes are not trained. What I mean by train is the following: Field Guides or people who work in the Kruger National Park or visit this great nature reserve often, get to familiarize themselves with the surroundings, the shapes of the animals, the colors of the animals and the bush, the environment, the habitat, and the vegetation in the specific areas in Kruger. Your eyes get used to seeing this over and over again, and time after time. Later, your eyes pick up things that “feel out of place” and stands out. This is normally how you get to train your eyes to find wildlife.

Keeping this in mind, you later know where to find certain animals and what areas and vegetation they prefer above others. This makes it easier to find these specific species, especially the Big Five animals. This is why it is such a huge advantage to book a guided safari with an open safari vehicle as it will certainly increase your chances to find more animals, as the Field Guides know the Kruger National Park like the back of their hands and they have vast knowledge of the reserve that includes, history, information about animals, habitat, vegetation, etc.

I always say, finding your first lion is the most challenging as you don’t know the exact shape, size and color of the lion in real life instead of on television. I have had many encounters with lions with guests whilst on safari in Kruger, and I have noticed how hard it is for some people to first see the lions, even though they are lying just under a tree or on a sand bank in the open near the river, or even right in the open, on the sand. The thing is, a lion blend into its natural surroundings so well, keeping in mind that the color of their coat resembles the color of dry grass, sand, etc. Even when a big male lion lies down, in medium-tall grass and picks up his big head with his impressive mane, it resembles the movement of grass as the wind blows it. It is hard to see if you don’t have a Field Guide to point you in the right direction of a lion.

Finding the rhinos in Kruger National Park

These magnificent creatures remind me of dinosaurs, the way they are armored with thick skin and two protruding horns at the top of their nose and forehead. In Kruger National Park you get two species of rhino; the White Rhino and the Black Rhino.

The color has nothing to do with the name given to the animals. The color of the thick skin is similar, but the body size, stature, the shape and size of the head and the features of the mouth showcase the difference between the two rhino species in Kruger.

Globally, not all people are on the same page when it comes to the current status of our rhinos, and I mean OUR – referring to you and I. Rhinos are globally slaughtered by inhumane, money-hungry humans that disregard the quality and right to life of any living thing. These people are soulless, driven by greed. They slaughter these poor Rhinos at an alarming rate to benefit their desires and money hungry greed.

The situation regarding the killing of rhinos has become so bad globally that there are Special Forces and anti-poaching units, with highly trained individuals protecting and dedicating their lives to wildlife and more specifically, rhinos. There is a constant battle being fought each day to help save these creatures.
Kruger National Park has an anti-poaching and military unit to help protect our rhinos.

Today it is still possible to find rhinos in the Kruger National Park. Your chances to find rhino will be enhanced if you decide to go on a safari with a Field Guide, as they know in which areas to find rhino.

Seeing a rhino should be at the top of your bucket list. Statistically, if people continue to kill rhinos, there will be no more rhinos left in the years to come.

If finding a rhino is something that is at the top of your bucket list, we suggest that you mention that when you make your safari booking, as it is only in specific areas that you may be lucky enough to encounter these fascinating animals.

Finding the Cape buffalo in Kruger National Park

The Cape buffalo can often be found in the Kruger National Park as they eat a variety of grass types that includes long dry grass, which they seem to prefer to new growth shoots. I often find the Cape buffalo near the area of Pretoriuskop where there is plenty of grass. They are bulk grazers and can consume a large amount of sour grass and other grass types.

Buffalo will range over a very wide area in search of food to feed a large herd. Buffalos are very water-dependent and will drink a lot of water or as often as twice a day if they can. Male buffalos can be found near water or in the water, mud-wallowing in the heat of the day.

You can also keep an eye out for them along the reeds near the rivers; you can find small herds of male buffalos called “daga” boys in these areas.
Alternatively, you can find great big herds of buffalos in the Kruger when you are lucky.

Playing hide and seek with leopards

Leopards are the most elusive of all mammals in Kruger National Park. Leopards lead an arboreal lifestyle, meaning they spend a great deal of time in trees. Remember, leopards hunt their prey and as soon as they have successfully hunted, they will drag their kill up into the nearest tree. This helps them to protect their kill from other animals such as lions and hyenas. Keeping the kill in a tree, like a leopard’s pantry, means they can save the kill while they rest and return later to eat once more.

This arboreal lifestyle makes it even more difficult to find leopards, as you not only need to look in the trees but you also need to look on the ground to find these elusive felines. Leopards are mostly always on the move or in hiding, or simply moving around so well camouflaged that we can simply not see them with our human eyes.

Being a field guide in Kruger, I know the feeling of finding leopards and it is one of the most rewarding feelings because they are hard to find.

Important articles you should read: CLICK on the LINKS below for more information!

• What is the duration of a full day safari/ How many hours is a full day safari in Kruger National Park and why?
• Read all about Children on safari, the do’s and don’ts, safety, rules & regulations etc.
• General Rules and regulations and good safari etiquette
• Reasons why you should visit South Africa
• Things you need to know when planning a trip to South Africa
• How tipping in South Africa works
• What to bring and pack for a Safari
• When is the best time to go on Safari in Kruger National Park?
• How to book a Kruger National Park safari to Kruger from Nelspruit | White River | Hazyview | Malelane?
• The benefits of going on a Guided safari with an open safari vehicle to Kruger National Park
• Is it safe to visit the Kruger National Park?
• All about Malaria in South Africa and Kruger National Park