Kruger Archives - Africa Geographic

COVID-19 safari during lockdown: we test-drive

What will a Covid-19 safari be like under South Africa’s levels 2 & 3 lockdown? We test-drive a lockdown safari in Timbavati, Greater Kruger

Meet the lion coalitions & prides of the Greater Kruger

Meet the famous Mapogos and other celebrity lion coalitions of the Greater Kruger – the warriors, the courageous and the notorious.

Baboon kidnaps lion cub

A baboon kidnapped a tiny lion cub in the Kruger National Park, and was seen grooming the dying cub in a large tree

The ‘Greater Kruger’ refers to 344,000 hectares (860,000 acres) of protected land to the west of Kruger National Park that provides a larger area for wildlife to roam freely. This additional land is owned by private and local community property owners.

Greater Kruger sightings: The arrival of the wet season

Catch up on the latest wildlife-viewing highlights from the team at Tinstwalo in the Greater Kruger’s Manyeleti Private Game Reserve.

Greater Kruger sightings: A month of spotted cats

Catch up on the latest wildlife-viewing highlights from the team at Tinstwalo in the Greater Kruger’s Manyeleti Private Game Reserve.

Experience an art safari in the Big 5 Greater Kruger

Join professional artist Alison Nicholls on a special Big 5 art safari in the Greater Kruger.

Klaserie Capers

He emerged silently from the gloom and ambled towards us with that gentle rocking gait that big bull elephants use to cover vast distances with minimal effort. His white tusks glowed in the moonshine, but otherwise, he was just a huge dark grey smudge that loomed larger by the second. The eight of us sat […]

Big cat sightings in the Greater Kruger

Catch up on the latest big cat sightings from the team at Tinstwalo in the Greater Kruger’s Manyeleti Private Game Reserve.

Winter highlights from the Greater Kruger

Catch up on the latest wildlife-viewing highlights from the team at Tinstwalo in the Greater Kruger’s Manyeleti Private Game Reserve.

Walking Safari in the Greater Kruger

This walking safari got off to a rollicking start. The previous day I met up with my UK-based Africa Geographic colleague and long-time friend Christian Boix, two safari first-timers and our trail guides Hanri and AD and spent our first night in the mobile camp deep in the Greater Kruger. The husband and wife first-timers […]

Watch: African wildcat kitten in my garden

Cuteness alert! Our CEO finds a tiny African wildcat kitten in his garden near the Greater Kruger, notices signs of possible inbreeding with domestic cats.

Video: Bucket the tiny lion cub is still going strong!

Good news: The tiny lion cub named Bucket that left her mother at the tender age of five weeks to follow the pride males, and endured 10 days with no mother’s milk before rejoining her mom, is alive and well.

A new cat on the block

A young male leopard seems to be settling in quite well in the central Timbavati, having wandered in from a private concession in the Kruger National Park.

Just how cute are lion cubs?

Just how cute are lion cubs? The answer has to be nothing short of extremely cute!

Photos: Fantastic sightings from the Greater Kruger

A stunning selection of photos of the latest sightings from Tanda Tula in the Greater Kruger.

Video: “The Great Escape” – wildebeest outruns lion pride

An epic sighting for safari goers as a pride of lions attempt to take a wildebeest down in the Kruger National Park.

Video: Elephants go mad for marulas in our garden

“Elephants love marula fruit. I have seen them rush to a tree with a lot of fallen fruit the same way they would hurry to a waterhole when they are thirsty. We happen to have two marula trees in our garden that drop a lot of fruit.. too much for an elephant to resist!”

A new pride joins the lions of Tintswalo

Like an African ‘Game of Thrones’, the lions of Tintswalo experience regular upheavals and transformation, with the change in power dynamics and the arrival of new blood on the reserve.

Big news as Kruger National Park 10-year management plan approved by Minister

South Africa’s Acting Minister of Environmental Affairs Derek Hanekom has officially approved the ground-breaking and visionary 10-year Kruger National Park Management Plan.

New citrus farm on Kruger border – have your say

A citrus farming enterprise has purchased a small but ecologically pivotal farm on the border of the Klaserie and Timbavati private nature reserves (Greater Kruger) near the town of Hoedspruit, and plans to develop a citrus orchard in this vital game reserve area.

Update: The wandering N4 highway Kruger lion

Remember the lion that was found wandering on the N4 highway this past September? Here’s an update on his latest whereabouts.

Kruger Glamping

Glamorous camping (glamping) should be an authentic way of enjoying what safari used to be all about. But not too authentic, right? I mean you don’t want to have to catch your dinner or dig a pit latrine. Sure, do away with the permanent lodge structures, but I still want to feel safe and comfortable. […]

Bush tales: The story of the painted wolves of Balule

‘Painted wolves’, ‘Cape hunting dogs’ or ‘wild dogs’. No matter what you call them, one thing is certain: they are one of the most enigmatic and charismatic animals on the African continent.

Adorably naughty leopard cubs

A leopard mother has her paws full as her two adorably naughty cubs prefer to explore the bush rather than hide away in their den.

Kruger’s roaming lions

“Never a dull moment in the bush” is something my husband and I tell each other all the time. Well, that is certainly true for the events of a few weekends ago when a male lion got out of our stunning Kruger National Park!

Kruger 10-year management plan

SANParks has released its Kruger National Park management plan covering the next 10 years. This 259-page report is essential reading for Kruger fans who enjoy debating the issues that the Kruger management team has to deal with on a regular basis, such as problem-animal management, hotels in Kruger and trophy hunting of free-roaming wildlife on reserves adjoining Kruger.

Following in the footsteps of giants, a unique Kruger experience

Discovering stunning spots in the Kruger National Park where no tourist has ever been, becoming part of the food chain for a week by sharing the living space of elephants, hippos, buffaloes and lions, testing your feet, legs and stamina with a 100+ kilometre walking expedition; the newly developed north-to-south Kruger Trail is the stuff that the dreams of adventurous nature lovers are made of.

Tracking with the Ju/’Hoansi Master Trackers in Kruger

The last three Master Trackers of the Ju/’hoanis from Nyae Nyae in Namibia were invited to the Kruger in South Africa to participate in some pioneering trails. They came to display their extraordinary tracking prowess to guests participating in walking trails. This is an account of their journey.

Video: There is an elephant in the driveway!

An elephant tucks into some juicy vegetation in a residential garden in the Kruger National Park in South Africa.

Skye the lion hunting furore: Parliament wants Kruger NP agreement with private reserves revised

Environmental Affairs committee believes agreement between Kruger National Park and private reserves should be revised.

Epic Kruger

This epic photo gallery from Africa Geographic of special moments in Kruger National Park will have you booking your next safari with AG

History and future of the Kruger

It was a few years before the South African (Boer) War, in the late 1800s when President Paul Kruger (in office 1883 – 1900) was alerted to the fact that a rapid extinction of various species of flora and fauna was taking place in South Africa. Unregulated hunting meant that wild animals were disappearing fast, […]

Video: The new lion cubs of the Zebenine pride

After weeks of waiting, the two lion cubs, a male and a female, from the Zebanine pride have finally made their first appearance.

Lions and hyenas: Eternal enemies

Chad Cocking and his team recently had a stunning sighting of lions restoring order and claiming their rank from the hyena clans, proving just how formidable they can be.

Video: Battle of the boars

A field guide in the Kruger National Park witnesses an epic battle between to warthog boars.

Video: Lions make a comeback

With wild lions under pressure from so many threats, this is a wonderful story of lions being reintroduced to an area that used to have lions.

Video: Chad and the black mamba

A game ranger received quite an unexpected surprise when he found a near three-metre black mamba underneath his bed.

There’s a Leopard in my Garden

One of the most popular requests from safari tourists to their guides is to see leopards. This is a tough task, even for the most experienced of guides, due to the elusive and cunning nature of these big cats. But there is a town called Hoedspruit, near the Kruger National Park in the Limpopo Province […]

Our day watching Kruger’s wild dogs

A pack of wild dogs provide a whole day’s worth of entertainment for a photographer in the Kruger National Park.

Southern ground-hornbill feasts on hare

A southern ground-hornbill in the Kruger finds a rare treat in the form of a juvenile hare.

The Kruger – a photographer’s dream safari

South Africa’s Kruger National Park is one of the largest conservation areas in the world. For budding and professional wildlife photographers, or ‘wildographers’, as they are becoming commonly known, it’s a much-prized destination.

Manyeleti: The Place of Stars

Manyeleti is a bit of an open secret amongst those in the know. But the secret details depend on who you speak to. Jaundiced, local Kruger National Park die-hards have either never heard of it, or write the reserve off as not worthy of their holiday time (most never having been there). Others with more […]

Art safari Q&A: What will I learn on my art safari?

Artist Alison Nicholls answers some frequently asked questions regarding the Africa Geographic Travel art safaris that she runs in the Kruger National Park and Madikwe in South Africa.

Bush tales: Half-blind lioness and cubs update

One of the best parts about being a field guide is that you can follow the stories of animals, you can watch cubs grow up and witness the change in dynamics within herds. Yet, as always within nature, there are moments of pure joy but also of great tragedy.

Klaserie through the Lens

Every year, the Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year competition showcases a plethora of phenomenal photos from around Africa by professional and amateur photographers, alike. The lucky winners are awarded incredible prizes that reflect their talent. Wildlife photographer Willem Kruger won first place in the ‘travel’ category in 2017 and enjoyed a memorable trip to the […]

Gory splendour: Lion cub and buffalo carcass

A greedy lion cub wants the buffalo carcass all to itself!

Rediscovering Kruger

Living on the African continent, we have a vast array of protected areas to visit. Those of us with a travel-addiction and passion for wildlife endeavour to visit them all – the Okavango, Maasai Mara and Serengeti to mention just a few. However, we sometimes overlook what we have right on our doorstep, such as […]

Bush tales: Half-blind lioness takes down giraffe for cubs

A field guide shares his story of a lone, half-blind, lioness who took down a giraffe for her and her cubs to feast on in the Kruger.

Ticking off the bucket list: Leopard cub

An incredible sighting of a leopard cub with its mother in Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana – one for the bucket list!

Birding in Kruger: Caution, it’s more addictive than you think

There are some 477 species of feathered friends on the official bird list of South Africa’s iconic Kruger National Park. However, some bird lists for the park include as many as 517 species, which includes some rare and unusual visitors.

Decoding Kruger’s ‘Elephant Management Plan’

The Kruger National Park is vast, at about 2 million hectares, and requires a thorough management strategy in order to ensure long term sustainability. Part of that strategy, The Elephant Management Plan – compiled by Kruger management and Scientific Service – is currently in force, and covers the period 2013 to 2022.

Video: Elephant herd mock charges during game drive

It was on one particularly windy morning when we were out on a game drive, having just come from watching lions being chased by a young elephant bull, and I came around a corner and straight into an elephant breeding herd!

leopard peering into the camera with technology icon overlay

Kruger: Is this the technological future?

Presently, we are able to instantly globally share everything we see and hear in Kruger and just about every other destination on earth. Animal sightings and locations are given in real time and we are able to send photos and videos across a host of social media platforms.