One of the things we love about Kruger National Park is how easy it is to see animals. The park staff have created not only many kilometers of tarred roads, but also many unpaved roads near rivers, dams, and waterholes where animals like to congregate. Most of our animal sightings during our two week visit were fairly close to a road which meant using binoculars or a telephoto camera lens were not always needed. Large cats and birds are not included in this post because they are the focus of two other posts.

Big Ones – These creatures are not only big, but can also be quite dangerous when agitated. We tried to give them plenty of room when we saw them near the road.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We especially liked watching the baby elephants play! When they ran their big ears would flap plus their tails and trunks would swing from side to side. So cute!

• 

• 

We first encountered this large bull when trying to turn from a dead-end road onto a more main road. Just as we began to turn he came toward us, so we backed up to give him space. He continued coming towards us so we continued to back up, knowing that we eventually might be trapped at the termination of a dead-end road. Our stress level began to rise. We stopped and he stopped after taking a few more steps. We waited and after staring at us for what seemed like two or three minutes, he finally turned around and retraced his steps. We stayed parked for a few minutes to make sure the elephant had adequate time to move off the road and into the trees and brush. Plus we needed time to calm down a bit. Then we slowly started driving back to the corner. As we rounded a curve in the road we saw the same elephant! And he came towards us again. We backed up even further this time on the dead-end road as he continued to walk towards us. We stopped and he eventually stopped. We waited. The bull eventually turned around, walked down the road, and then ambled off into the brush. Fortunately the elephant never ran towards us or made any aggressive trumpeting sounds when coming towards us. But it was a very unnerving experience! And we were too distracted to take any photos until he walked away the second (and final!) time.

• 

Other Mammals – Many varieties of critters live in Kruger and we enjoyed watching the interactions of animals within a herd.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We saw quite a few hyenas and pups beside or even on the surface of paved roads.

• 

• 

• 

We never got tired of watching baby baboons.

• 

• 

Creepy Crawly Critters – Crocodiles are abundant in Kruger National Park, and we were also fortunate to see a few of the less common crawling and slithering types of creatures.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

First photos – Our family has a saying that “If there is no photo, it didn’t happen” because in a few years we are likely to forget that the experience even occurred. The photos below are our first ever photo proof that we actually saw these varieties of animals!

• 

• 

•