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.