Elephants can be found in all parts of Kruger National Park and one of the famous Big 5. You will find these enormous and beautiful animals nears dams, waterholes or rivers very frequently.

The animal sanctuary located near the Kruger Park has helped the elephants a lot. As many new visitors arrived in the hope of finding gold in the area, most elephants were shot because of the ivory. In 1926, the entire National Park only had 6 elephants. The former park ranger Steven Hamilton bought a herd of elephants from Mozambique and 20 years later, the number of elephants had recovered to over 500. Today, you will be able to see more than 12,000 elephants on your visit to the Kruger National Park. In fact, there might even be too many elephants roaming the park, as there is not enough food for all.

Please click on each picture to view it in its original size!

Elephants are the largest land animal in the world and needs over 500 kilos of food and 350l of water per day. Many rangers are of the opinion that the existing number of elephants must be reduced due to the relatively low supply of food. Many private game reserves are asked to adopt young elephants from the Kruger National Park.

About 7 years ago, two elephants were transported to a private game reserve near the Cape. With transport costs exceeding 30,000 €, these two young bulls were transported to Cape Town by road. The Safari Park in Cape Town had to ensure a food source and planted specific trees and grasses. A special accommodation for the two giants was built, so they could get used to the new environment. After a short while, the two elephants were released into the wild where they still roam today.

Since the Kruger National Park has been extended into the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, there is now more room and food for elephant herds. Since elephants have no natural enemies, the park services monitor the balance all the time. 

Further Information:

• Weight: 7.000 kg
• Shoulder height of the bull: 3.5 meters
• Shoulder height of females: 2.5 meters
• Average age: 70 years
• Weight of the tusks up to 90 pounds
• Body length from trunk to tail: about 8 meters
• Highest point: back
• Speed: 5 to 40 km / h
• The trunk of has more than 40,000 muscles. It is a tool of the special kind that can pluck leaves from trees to a height of 7 feet, but also used for drinking water. 

His legs extend straight from the body and the bone structure is very complex. The bones also do not contain any bone-marrow. An elephant's footprint is approximately 0.25m² big. The elephant foot consists of large layers of fatty tissue. They basically run on their toes leaving not many tracks behind. By doing this, they can move around water, mud or sand very quickly and elegantly.

Safaris in the park

If you are planning a safari in the Kruger National Park, we would like to offer our services. We can organize private tours in the Kruger Park with small groups. Upon request, we can also provide tours with a large safari vehicle which hold space for more than 20 people. We are also one of the few tour operators that can offer night safaris in the park. The chances to view elephants in the Kruger Park are very good, particularly because our rangers are in constant contact with their colleagues. We can also send you information for other tours throughout South Africa.

We look forward to hearing from you,

Your Kruger Park Team

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