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Kruger National Park Facts

Kruger National Park Facts
Kruger National Park is a 7,523 square mile game reserve located in northeast South Africa. The South African Republic government began to protect this region in 1898. In 1926 it became the first official national park in South Africa. In creating Kruger National Park, two reserves were combined, including the Sabi Game Reserve and Shingwedzi Reserve. Adjacent farmland was also added to the land that would become Kruger National Park. It was established to protect animals and control hunting. Today Kruger National Park is one of the largest reserves in Africa and is popular for tourists as a safari destination.
Interesting Kruger National Park Facts:
Kruger National Park is named after Paul Kruger, the president of Transvaal in 1884, who saw a need to protect the region's animal population from over-hunting.
The park opened in 1927, and visitors had to pay one pound to enter.
Kruger National Park is approximately 90km wide at its widest point, and 360km long.
Kruger National Park is located in the eastern portion of South African provinces Mpumalanga and Limpopo.
Natural boundaries to Kruger National Park include the Limpopo River (north of the park) and Crocodile River (south of the park).
Kruger National Park is part of the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere, an International Man and Biosphere Reserve as designated by UNESCO. The Kruger to Canyons Biosphere is the third largest biosphere reserve in the world.
There are more than 1800km of groomed roads for touring Kruger National Park.
Kruger National Park has a subtropical climate. It is common for summer temperatures to surpass 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Vegetation in Kruger National Park includes a variety of trees, bushes, grazing grasses, and shrubs.
There have been at least 517 different bird species identified at Kruger National Park. Six species are of particular interest because of vulnerability to changes in habitat or their need for a lot of space. These are referred to as the ‘Big Six Birds'.
The Big Six Birds at Kruger National Park include the ground hornbill, kori bustard, saddle-billed stork, martial eagle, Pel's fishing owl, and the lappet-faced vulture.
The five big game animals are found in Kruger National Park. These include the African lion, African leopard, African elephant, Cape buffalo, and the black and white rhinos.
There are more than 27,000 African buffalo, 12,000 elephants, and over 1000 leopards living in Kruger National Park.
The wildlife population in Kruger National Park also includes zebras, cheetahs, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, African wild dogs, bushbacks, elands, kudus, spotted hyenas, impalas, waterbucks, and wildebeest.
There are 114 known species of reptiles living in Kruger National Park, including the African rock python, and the black mamba.
There are 49 species of fish that can be found in the waters in Kruger National Park.
There are 650 park rangers that work as an anti-poaching unit in Kruger National Park. Drones and a dog unit have been added to the team's equipment to help catch poachers in the park.
There are 21 rest camps at various locations at Kruger National Park. There are also designated private lodges, and bush camps where tourists can stay.


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