The Kruger National Park is home to at least 147 species of mammals, among the highest counts of any national park in the world. Many of these are small and difficult to see and/or identify, such as the various kinds of bats, shrews and rodents. However, there are also a number of other animals that are easily spotted from the roads traversing the park and bring great joy to the hundreds of thousands of visitors that flock to the reserve every year. In this post we’ll be featuring some of the mammals we encountered during our visit in June 2023.
Chacma Baboons are always great crowd pleasers, with their all to familiar human-like characters and antics. You might also enjoy our short video of two youngsters interacting with each other and their parents.
Banded Mongooses move around in troops and are often seen near picnic spots where they look for scraps, like these were doing at Tshokwane.
Troop of Banded Mongooses at Tshokwane
Early morning is a good time to see Black-backed Jackals.
Black-backed Jackal seen early morning on the H10 road from Lower Sabie to Tshokwane
The comical Blue Wildebeest is a familiar sight all over the Kruger National Park.
We’ve already taken a closer look at the Kruger National Park’s big Buffalo herds.
Bushbuck are found in areas of dense vegetation, such as the riverine forests lining most of the Kruger’s large rivers.
Bushbuck ewe
The Dwarf Mongoose is the smallest carnivore occurring in the Kruger National Park. They like living in termite mounds, and to sun themselves outside their homes on cold mornings!
The Kruger National Park has a sizable population of Elephant, making for some wonderful encounters with these charismatic animals.
Giraffes are very photogenic animals!
Hippos may look like jolly creatures, but they’re actually among the most dangerous animals in Africa!
Tamboti Tented Camp is well known for its Honey Badgers who come raiding the trash cans at night, which is why we had our little cameratrap set up outside our accommodation to capture the nightly attack!
The Impala is the most numerous large mammal in the Park and so familiar that most visitors pay them little more attention than a passing glance, which is a real pity as they are quite beautiful antelope!
Be sure to scan rocky outcrops for the dainty Klipspringer!
Many people consider the Kudu among the most regal of Africa’s antelope.
This Large-spotted Genet also came snooping around the trash can in Tamboti while the Badger was roaming elsewhere in camp.
We’ll remember our June 2023 visit to the Kruger National Park for a long time thanks to our wonderful Leopard sightings!
Lions are at the top of the wish list for most visitors visiting the Kruger National Park, and there’s no denying that seeing these enormous cats roaming wild is always an awesome experience!
I think the video of the Lioness and her cute cubs deserves another look!
Nyalas are seen more frequently in the northern reaches of the Kruger National Park.
Nobody will complain about the fact that the photogenic Plains Zebras are frequently seen in almost every area of the Park.
Reedbuck are a rare sighting in Kruger, but the grassy plains north of Lower Sabie is a good place to go looking for them – we found this ewe along the H10 road.
Reedbuck ewe seen along the H10 road north of Lower Sabie in the Kruger National Park
The Roan Antelope is one of the two rarest species of large antelope found in the Kruger National Park, so we were very excited to have seen them twice during our visit in June 2023; a sizable herd at the Babalala Picnic Site and later a pair along the Shingwedzi River.
Scrub Hares can often be seen among the huts in Kruger’s rest camps after dark, but seeing them out-and-about during daylight happens less frequently.
The tiny Sharpe’s Grysbok is found most regularly in the far north of the Kruger National Park.
Sharpe’s Grysbok
Side-striped Jackals are seen much less often than their black-backed cousins, so regularly seeing this one near Shingwedzi (caught here by our little cameratrap) was a rare treat.
Side-striped Jackal at Shingwedzi
The Slender Mongoose is a very active, usually solitary, predator – we were lucky to find a few willing to pose for photographs!
Spotted Hyenas are mostly active between dusk and dawn and a regular sighting on guided drives conducted by the Park authorities after dark.
The Steenbok is probably Kruger’s most frequently encountered small antelope.
Not only are Tree Squirrels very cute but they’re also excellent alarms when predators are around, so pay attention when you hear their excited chatter!
The north of the Kruger National Park, especially around Mopani and Shingwedzi Rest Camps, is the best place to go searching for the rare Tsessebe.
Warthogs might not be the most attractive animals, yet they’re sure to bring a smile to your face!
With their white-circled backsides the Waterbuck is instantly recognizable.
Given the huge danger poaching poses to the continued existence of the White Rhino we were extremely grateful to have had three encounters with these enigmatic beasts when we visited the Kruger National Park in June 2023.
White Rhino
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