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Elephants in Kruger National Park, South Africa
Photo: Jacky W https://www.flickr.com/photos/mediatejack/, CC BY 2.0

Safari · South Africa

Kruger National Park Animal Checklist

Kruger National Park is South Africa's largest and best-known safari park, covering nearly two million hectares of bush in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. It holds all of the Big Five, plus wild dogs, cheetahs and more than 500 bird species. This checklist covers 101 animals. The dry winter months, May to September, are the easiest time to find them.

Kruger is built for self-drivers: tarred roads, fenced rest camps and good maps make it easy to plan your own game drives. The south is busiest and richest in game; the far north around Pafuri is quieter and best for birds.

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The Kruger checklist in the Wilder app, started as a trip with the first animals ticked
Animals to find
101
Where
South Africa
Best time
May to Sept
Big Five
All five

The Big Five in Kruger

  • Lion, one of the animals to look for in Kruger

    Lion

    Most common in the open, grassy centre of the park around Satara. Prides often rest in the shade by mid-morning, so drive early.

    Photo: Kritzolina, CC BY-SA 4.0

  • Leopard, one of the animals to look for in Kruger

    Leopard

    The Sabie and Sand rivers are classic leopard country. Scan the big riverine trees at dawn and dusk, when leopards come down to hunt.

    Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0

  • African Savanna Elephant, one of the animals to look for in Kruger

    African Savanna Elephant

    Easy to find almost anywhere, especially along the Olifants and Letaba rivers in the dry season. Give bulls in musth plenty of room and never block their path.

    Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0

  • Cape Buffalo

    Large herds move between water and grazing in the central and northern plains. Lone old bulls, known locally as dagga boys, wallow in pans near the rivers.

  • White Rhinoceros

    Grazes on open grassland, mostly in the south. Poaching has cut numbers sharply, so SANParks asks visitors never to share rhino locations or post geotagged photos.

  • Black Rhinoceros

    Shy, rare and a browser, so it keeps to thick bush in the south. Most people only glimpse one at a waterhole around dawn, if they're lucky.

  • African Wild Dog

    Not one of the Big Five, but the sighting most regulars want. Packs cover huge distances, so a sighting is luck. If you find one, switch off, stay put and let the pack move on its own.

  • Cheetah

    Look on the open grassland around Satara and the plains south of Lower Sabie, usually early in the day before the heat.

All 101 animals to spot in Kruger

Grouped the way you'll meet them. Tips show where to look.

The Big Five 6

Grazers and browsers 16

Hunters 10

Smaller mammals 14

Birds of prey 12

Big birds 10

Ground and water birds 6

Colourful birds 18

Reptiles and amphibians 9

  • Last reviewed September 2026.
  • Sources are listed below the questions.
  • Wild animals only. Please give them space.

Best time to see wildlife in Kruger

Kruger is good all year, but the seasons change what you see. The dry winter, roughly May to September, is the easiest time: the grass is short, the trees lose their leaves and animals gather at rivers and dams. Mornings can be cold, around 5°C, so bring layers for open vehicles. October is hot and dry, with game concentrated at water before the rains. From November to March the summer rains turn the bush green. Game spreads out and is harder to spot, but impala and wildebeest drop their young around November and December, and migrant birds such as European Bee-eater and Woodland Kingfisher arrive. It is also the best time for birding and photography with dramatic skies. South African school holidays make camps busy, so book early for July and December.

  • Jan-MarHot and green; migrant birds, thunderstorms, fewer visitors outside holidays
  • Apr-MayRains ending, bush drying out; a quiet, good-value window
  • Jun-AugPeak game viewing at water; cold mornings, busy in July
  • Sep-OctDriest and hottest; animals crowd the rivers and dams
  • Nov-DecFirst rains; baby impala and wildebeest, summer birds return

Tips for spotting wildlife in Kruger

  1. Be at the gate when it opens

    Gate times change through the year. Entrance gates open at 05:30 in summer and 06:00 in winter, and camp gates open as early as 04:30 from November to January. The first two hours are when cats are still moving and wild dogs hunt.

  2. Follow the rivers in winter

    In the dry months the Sabie, Olifants and Letaba rivers pull in elephants, hippos, buffalo and the predators that follow them. Low-level bridges and river lookouts are good places to wait.

  3. Wait at water rather than chase

    Racing to reported sightings causes traffic jams around the animals. Park at a dam or river lookout, switch off and wait quietly: you often see more, and have it to yourself.

  4. Stay in the car and keep to the limits

    You may only leave your vehicle at designated spots, and the speed limit is 50 km/h on tar and 40 km/h on gravel. Driving slowly is also how you spot a chameleon or a tortoise on the road.

  5. Book a guided night drive

    Self-drivers must be in camp by gate closing, so a SANParks sunset or night drive is the only way to look for civets, genets, bushbabies and, very rarely, aardvark or pangolin.

The Wilder app

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  • A summary of the tripEverything you saw, day by day.
  • A passport stampOne for Kruger, kept in your Wilder passport.
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The Kruger checklist in the Wilder app, started as a trip with the first animals ticked

Kruger wildlife FAQ

What animals can you see in Kruger National Park?

You can see the Big Five, cheetahs, wild dogs, hippos, giraffes, zebras and around 20 kinds of antelope in Kruger, plus more than 500 bird species. This checklist covers 101 of the animals visitors most often look for. In a few days most people see elephant, buffalo, giraffe and plenty of impala. Leopard, wild dog and black rhino take more time and luck.

What are the Big Five and can you see them all in Kruger?

Yes, all of the Big Five live in Kruger: lion, leopard, African elephant, Cape buffalo and rhinoceros (both white and black). The name comes from old hunting days, when these were the most dangerous animals to track on foot. Elephant and buffalo are easy, lion is likely in a few days, and leopard and rhino take patience. Seeing all five in one trip is common but not guaranteed.

What is the best time of year to see animals in Kruger?

The best time to see animals in Kruger is the dry winter, from May to September, when the bush thins and animals gather at water. September and October are the peak of the dry season but very hot. The wet summer, November to March, is greener, with newborn antelope and far more birds, but thicker bush makes big game harder to spot.

Where are the best areas of Kruger for leopards and lions?

For leopards, the riverine woodland along the Sabie and Sand rivers in the south is the classic area. For lions, the open plains around Satara in the central region are the most reliable. The private Sabi Sand reserve on the western boundary is famous for leopards, but requires staying at a lodge there.

What are the Little Five and Ugly Five in Kruger?

The Little Five are elephant shrew, ant lion, rhino beetle, buffalo weaver and leopard tortoise, small animals named after the Big Five. The Ugly Five are spotted hyena, vulture, marabou stork, warthog and wildebeest. You can find all of the Ugly Five in Kruger, and this list includes them, along with the Leopard Tortoise from the Little Five.

Sources

Last reviewed September 2026

Photo credits

All photo credits. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, resized.

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