#krugernationalpark Sightings: Big Five and Small Five

• The Kruger National Park in South Africa is an awesome place to be. This is nature at its very best: wide open spaces, sunshine, mosquitoes—what more can any traveler to Africa want?
• I love nature and travel, in particular visits to the game parks in South Africa. Every year, I see myself going to at least one, if not two, of the national parks.
• The winter months of June and July are the best time to visit the park, mainly because the vegetation is thinner and it is easier to spot the animals in the bush. The rainy season is during the summer months of December and January, and it gets hot and humid; the bush is green and lush, and the landscape is pleasing to the eye. Regardless of the time of year or the season, Kruger remains popular and is often fully booked. Plan and book a trip in advance!
• Mosquitoes are active during the summer months, and it is wise to get a prescription for prophylaxis. Wear light-colored clothing, as they are attracted to darker colors. Also, cover up with long-sleeve shirts and pants at dusk and dawn when they are most active. In addition, repellent sprays and lotions can give you peace of mind. A local remedy is gin and tonic (in moderation, though), as the tonic contains quinine, which is believed to give protection against malaria.

• The Kruger Park has a number of camps stretching from the south of the Park to the far north. Skukuza is the main camp and has the best facilities: shops, restaurants, a bird hide, chalets, and a caravan park. Choose between camp sites, safari tents or bungalows, family and guest cottages, and guest houses.
• Many of the smaller camps offer tenting sites only, whereas the bush camps do not even have a shop; you will have to bring all your food along. The Bateleur Bushveld Camp is such a camp.
• On the outside of Kruger, there are 3, 4, and 5-star hotels and lodges for guests who want to live the good life. Daily game drives are undertaken into the park, so you will miss none of the action that the animal kingdom gets up to.

The highlight of a trip to Kruger must be a daily sighting of the Big Five; if not, one should see each one at least once during the course of a tour. Experienced tour guides know where to look for the game; they have keen eyesight and will spot animals in the bush that visitors will not.

• During September 2014, my most recent trip into Kruger National Park, many elephant herds were seen with barely born babies hugging their mother's hind legs. These really tiny calves were still trying to find their feet and a use for their trunks. Seeing a baby elephant continually tripping over its trunk is quite hilarious. Visit a waterhole in the morning or late afternoon when the herds of elephants come down to drink.
• Buffalo herds can be seen at waterholes or rivers as they come down to quench their thirst; alternatively, you can find them in a mud pool as they take turns rolling around in the dark, sticky water. Herds can be quite large, and if you happen to be on a road when a herd is crossing, then the best course of action is to switch off your vehicle and wait until they are done. And they are not always in a hurry, either.
• Rhinos were often seen in twos, threes, and even a foursome, and that was a great sight given the fact that their numbers are diminishing because of poaching. Kruger National Park is in the process of moving the rhinos to other locations in an effort to protect the species. Already, more than 400 rhinos have been killed this year.
• Sightings of the various cat species are always highlights. We saw a leopard on two occasions during the week-long visit. Once, a mother and her offspring could be seen as they walked along in a ditch not far from the road. We followed them for a while and then turned away.
• The last of the big five is the lion, the mighty predator, an absolute must on a visit to Kruger. One of the most beautiful experiences during this visit was the night we heard the lions roar—nothing spells bush as that deep, throaty roar does.

Kruger has the Small five animals as well as the Big five animals. The big 5 is well known, but the small 5 is not so well known. Here they are:

• Firstly, there is the leopard tortoise, so named because its shell pattern resembles the skin of the leopard.
• Then there is the ant lion or doodle bug, the insect in its predatory larval stage, a stage that can last up to three years. As the name suggests, its prey is predominantly ants, although other insects are also eaten. As a true predator, it is easy to see why it shares a name with the king of the jungle.
• The rhino beetle has a rhino-like horn on its snout, hence the name after the rhino. The males use the horn during mating battles.
• The red-billed Buffalo weavers have black feathers, red bills, and forage on the ground; this is often in the vicinity of buffalo herds.
• The evil-tempered elephant shrew is the last of the small five. They have long trunk-like noses like the big five animals, where they get their name from. These ferocious animals will easily tackle bigger prey.

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