Small Five in the Kruger National Park
When on Safari also look out for the Small 5.
Also try and spot the Small 5
The term Small 5 or Little 5 came into being, after nature conservationists requested visitors to also acknowledge the smaller, less noticed, but still astonishing, animals of the African Wildlife in South Africa.
Each of these species size is in major contrast to the Big 5 and the first part of its English name relates to one of the famous Big 5 animals one-on-one.
In the Kruger National Park, the Small 5 animals are:
- Leopard Tortoise, with leopard spot blotching on its shell, this animal can grow up to a 100 years, is one of the biggest tortoises found and the only one that can swim.
- Lion Ant / Ant-Lion or Doodlebug, a small insect that with its powerful jaws, kills predators, primarily ants, thus, the Ant Lion is, metaphorically speaking, a “Lion” among ants.
- Rhino Beetle, can lift 850 times its body weight which is more than any other animal recorded and it has a horn on the head and another horn pointing forward from the center of the thorax, similar to the horns of a Big Rhino.
- Elephant Shrew: a small, insect-eating mammal with a long trunk-like nose, twisting it about in search of food. They vary in size from about 10 cm to almost 30 cm, from just under 50 g to over 500 g. Elephants shrews are very common in Southern Africa but seldom seen.
- Buffalo Weaver, is the easiest to spot among the Small 5, often found in the wake of buffalo herds.
Entrance Gates of the Kruger National Park
Entrance Gates of the Kruger National Park
The following are the list of entrance gates of the Kruger National Park:
- Berg-en-Dal
- Crokodile Bridge
- Letaba
- Lower Sabi
- Mopani
- Olifants
- Orpen
- Pretoriuskop
- Punda Maria
- Satara
- Shingwedzi
- Skukuza
Gus Adendorff writes in his book “Wild Company”, which was published in 1984, that he was a ranger in the Kruger National Park from 1 May 1950 to 31 March 1977. In his book he talks about many of the above gates.
Adendorff explains about one incident near Punda Maria where he was patrolling, specifically combating fires because of the drought and thus water supply for the African Wildlife as well. Also, note that in those days these rangers would patrol extreme vast areas of the Kruger National Park on foot or horseback as part of nature conservation. So Adendorff set out with 2 game guards for protection and two donkeys to carry their supplies. They were heading towards the Luvuvhu River when one of the guards stopped and whispered that elephants are coming in their direction. The elephants noticed them and immediately stampeded towards them. The group headed for higher ground but could do nothing about the donkeys that remained standing in harms way. Needless to say, Adendorff taught at that very moment that was the end of the donkeys. However, the leading elephant stopped three meters from the donkeys. No doubt that the elephants have never seen such creatures, thus, the next moment the elephant turned, trumpeted and the whole group ran away. The poor donkeys showed no concern at all, remained standing blissfully unaware of the situation.
The Eyes of the Leopard and Lion
The Eyes of the Leopard and Lion
The Leopard and Lion are [part of the Big 5 African Wildlife and herewith most interesting facts about the eyes of these cats.
LEOPARDS
Natgeotv writes that Leopards have fewer colour-detecting cones in their eyes than humans, and thus see fewer colours humans. It is a myth that mammals only see in black and white, although they rely less on colour differentiation. Large numbers of light-sensitive cells in the eyes that do not detect colour allow Leopards to detect movement and shape specifically predators at night. South Africa National Biodiversity Institute explains that Leopards have large eyes, which provide them with a binocular vision to determine distance accurately. The large pupils of the eyes allow abundant light to enter, making it possible to see during dark nights. The narrow white line found below the eyes of Leopards helps reflect light into the eyes for improved night vision. Eco Travel writes that when stalking, they crouch with their body held close to the ground and the tail horizontal, while they locate the prey primarily using their acute night vision, freezing whenever the prey looks around alertly: then they burst out with a focused fury. Leopards are totally adapted for hunting: they have close-set eyes for binocular vision, so they can accurately judge distances, and they often observe prey from a high vantage point before beginning their painstaking stalk A leopard’s night vision is up to 7 or 8 times better than a human’s, and its hearing is up to 5 times better. Leopards are born with their eyes shut to protect against sunlight and prevent cubs from wandering. Within two weeks their eyes are open (Natgeotv).
LIONS
Lions have terrific night vision. They are 6 times more sensitive to light than humans. This gives them a distinct advantage over some prey species when hunting at night (One kind). Lionalert reports that Lion cubs are born with blue eyes that change to amber or brown when aged two to three months. The eyes are proportionally larger than in comparable-sized animals and have round pupils. Lions have a second eyelid, 
which can be drawn over to clean and protect the eye. A reflective coating at the back of the eye reflects even moonlight, making their eyes appear to glow red in the dark. The coating gives lions sight eight times better than a human at night. A white circle below the eye helps reflect light into the eyes. Lions have round pupils instead of vertical slits, as are found in domestic cats. The round pupil at night also allows more light to filter into the eye, giving the lion better night vision. Like most cats, lions have limited ability to move their eyes from side to side and must move their head to look in a different direction.
Elephant, one of the Big 5
African Elephants are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), while the Asian Elephant is classed as endangered.
When on Safari in South Africa or 
the Kruger National Park, tourists will be awed by these majestic animals, which is one of the Big 5.
Widely recognized as the most impressive animal in Africa Wildlife, the African Elephant measures between 3.2 and 4 meters at the shoulder and weigh an average of 6.5 tons. The elephant’s trunk serves as a multipurpose tool for eating, cleaning, signalling, drinking water, digging, dusting and even as an extra limb when needed. Capable of reaching up to 7 meters in length, the elephant’s trunk is a strong muscle that has the ability to twist tightly around objects and is mostly used for tearing wood from trees or when fighting. Elephants are herbivorous, can be found in savannahs, forests, deserts and marshes and dedicate their energies to pushing over trees to eat. Elephants usually eat around 270-300kgs of food every day. They prefer to stay near water. Other animals tend to keep their distance, predators such as lions, tigers, hyenas and wild dogs usually target only the young elephants. Females tend to live in family groups, which can consist of one female with her calves or several related females with offspring. The groups are led by an individual known as the matriarch, often the oldest female. Males leave their family groups when they reach puberty, and interact with family groups when looking for a mate and enter a state of increased testosterone and aggression known as musth, which helps them gain dominance and reproductive success. Calves are the center of attention in their family groups and rely on their mothers for as long as three years. Elephants can live up to 70 years in the wild. They communicate by touch, sight, smell and sound; Elephants use infra-sound and seismic communication over long distances. They appear to have self-awareness and show empathy for dying or dead individuals of their kind.
(Reference: www.southafrica.com)
Zebra Most Popular to People
Zebra Painting by Amareza Buys
According to NationalGeographic.Com, there are two species of Zebra in Southern Africa, the Plains (or Burchell’s) Zebra and the Mountain Zebra. Visitors on safari in South Africa will find the latter, yet, there are three species throughout Africa. As the names suggest they occur in vastly differing habitats, although they are known to occur together in places where plains and mountains overlap. Grevy’s Zebra is the third specimen and found in East Africa which is the sole species of subgenus Dolichohippus. The latter resembles an ass, to which it is closely related, while the former two are more horse-like. All three belong to the genus Equus, along with other living equids (horse family). Burchell’s Zebras are the most common species. They live in small family groups consisting of a male (stallion), several females, and they’re young. Zebras are social animals that spend time in herds. They graze together, primarily on grass, and even groom one another.
Zebras must be constantly wary of lions and hyenas. A herd has many eyes that are alert to danger. If an animal is attacked, its family will come to its defence, circling the wounded zebra and attempting to drive off predators. The patterns may make it difficult for predators to identify a single animal from a running herd and distort distance at dawn and dusk. The skin may discourage insects that recognize only large areas of single-coloured fur or act as a kind of natural sunscreen. Unlike their closest relatives, horses and donkeys, Zebras have never been truly domesticated.
No animal has a more decorative coat than the Zebra with its distinctive black and white striped coats. The unique stripes of Zebras make them one of the animals most familiar to people. Each animal’s stripes are as unique as fingerprints; no two are exactly alike, although each of the three species has its own general pattern.
Scientists are not sure why Zebras have stripes, but many theories centre around the fact of a form of camouflage. Traditional tribes attribute it to a story of a baboon and a Zebra that fought and within the fury of the disagreement the white only Zebra fell into the fire, burning the stripes. It could also be that the unique stripes may also help Zebras recognize one another.
Various human factors had an influence on the existence of Zebras specifically, hunting for skins and habitat destruction. Grévy’s Zebra and the Mountain Zebra are endangered. Thus, conservationists focus on the Zebra not to go extinct. While Plains Zebras are plentiful, one subspecies, the Quagga, became extinct in the late 19th century.
Big 5 Attraction and Conservation
The big five are among the most dangerous and was the most popular or attractive species for big game hunters to hunt on foot. Traditionally, these animals were hunted or shot and the hunter would have been very proud because it was very difficult to hunt these 5 animals, sometimes the hunters were killed in the process. The reason being that when these animals were shot or wounded, they would charge, thus making them the ultimate trophies.
The Big 5 are supreme and one should note that they are prime targets for wildlife conservationists. The African Lion and the African Bush Elephant are both classified as vulnerable. The African Leopard and the White Rhinoceros are both classified as near threatened. The Black Rhinoceros is classified as critically endangered so they cannot be hunted at all. The African Cape Buffalo is the most popular Big 5 game animal to hunt, as its conservation status is least concern, but it is experiencing a population decline.
Today, luckily these animals are shot with the camera for their beauty a majestic superiority.
Private luxury lodges around the Kruger National Park offer visitors close contact sightings with Elephant, Lion, Rhino, Buffalo, Cheetah, Giraffe, Zebra and a vast variety of antelope and other species. All the Big 5 (elephant, rhino, buffalo, leopard and lion) are found at Kruger National Park. In addition, the Kruger Park has more species of large mammals than any other African Game Reserve (at 147 species).
Most importantly, although the Big 5 are extremely breathtakingly unforgettable, there are so many other awesome animals (big and minute) within South Africa to be spotted when on a Safari, also do not forget the rest of African Wildlife as well as the flora.