Endangered Species in Kruger National Park

Kruger National Park in South Africa is the largest game preserve of its type in Africa. It is home to more than 500 species of birds and 147 species of mammal, including all of the Big 5 game species. Here are some of the best-known endangered species of the park.

Kruger National Park is South Africa's largest wildlife preserve. "rainbow_aerial" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: Cessna 206 under the Creative Commons Attribution license.

Southern White Rhinoceros

The southern white rhinoceros is thought to have as many as 17,000 members, with 7,000 to 12,000 in the park. It is the most social of all rhino species and one of the few species that will breed readily in captivity.

Cheetah

The cheetah is unique among cats. It is the fastest land animal, and it is a non-climbing cat. There are thought to be nearly 12,000 remaining, with only 200 living in Kruger National Park.

Giraffe

The giraffe is popular with park visitors. "Giraffe" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: wwarby (William Warby) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.

The giraffe is the tallest land species. It is related to deer. The worldwide population is thought to be around 130,000, with approximately 5,100 living in the park.

Spotted Hyena

Once common throughout Africa, the laughing, or spotted, hyena today only can be found south of the Sahara Desert. Between 1,300 and 3,900 members of this species are thought to live in Kruger National Park.

African Elephant

Elephants display a high level of intelligence. "at the zoo" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: belgianchocolate (frank wouters) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.

The African elephants are prized for their ivory and have the largest brain of any land-dwelling animal. Elephants have been seen to exhibit grief, show artistic and musical ability and use tools, among other recognized traits of intelligence. There are thought to be around 11,000 living in the park.

References

• Earth's Endangered Creatures
• Endangered African Mammals

Resources

• World Wildlife Federation
• The IUCN Red List of Endangered Species