Kruger National Park
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use South African English Template:Infobox protected area
Kruger National Park (Template:IPA) is a national park in South Africa covering an area of Template:Cvt in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the country's northeast. It extends Template:Cvt from north to south and Template:Cvt from east to west. The administrative headquarters are in Skukuza. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa's first national park in 1926. It is part of Kruger to Canyons Biosphere, an area designated as a biosphere reserve.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
Conservation Pre-Game Reserve (1867-1898)
A Game Commission was established in 1891 with J.M. Malan of Rustenberg as chairman,<ref>Template:Cite conference</ref> which resulted in the establishment of the game law of 1891.<ref>Game Law (Law Number 6) 1891 - South African Republic </ref> It must be noted that there were already individual farmers as far back as 1867 who published notices in the Staatscourant to prohibit hunting and so try to preserve the game on their own land. In total 200 owners protected game on about 300 farms between 1867 and 1881 in this manner.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> One of these farmers was pioneer Alexander Marsh Robertson<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> who owned two adjacent farms, Rolfontein and Elandsberg, extending over 7600 morgen in the Wakkerstroom district. Robertson was the first farmer to fence part of his property to create a game camp in the eastern Transvaal, some 500 morgen using leadwood and barbed wire. The creation of the game camp however was serendipity. Robertson initially erected the fence to restrain his horses, but the fence also provided the added benefit of protecting the ground game. Game in this camp increased significantly due to the protection offered by the fence.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> President Paul Kruger regularly toured the rural areas to visit his people. He heard about the success of Robertson's "game" camp and wrote to Albertus Stoop his son Tjaart's future father-in-law, himself a keen conservationist and neighbour of Robertson, to arrange a visit to Rolfontein so that he could see the experiment first hand and stay the night.<ref name=Pienaar2012>Template:Cite book</ref> Kruger was very impressed with Robertson's unexpected success and continued to show great interest in the Wakkerstroom farmer's efforts to preserve game over the next few years. He visited Rolfontein again in 1892, and it was at this visit, at a great braai held in his honour that he spoke to the importance of Rolfontein in protecting smaller game and proceeded to lay out, for the first time in a public forum, his plan to establish the first Game Reserve in Africa along the Sabi River to preserve the big game that needed a much larger protected habitat to thrive.<ref name=Pienaar2012/>
Sabi Game Reserve (1898–1926)
Sabi Game Reserve was initially created to control hunting and to protect the diminishing number of animals in the area.<ref name=lonely468>Template:Cite book</ref> The reserve was located in the southern one-third of the modern park.<ref name=Foxcroft33>Template:Cite journal</ref> James Stevenson-Hamilton became the first warden of the reserve in 1902.<ref name=lonely468/> Singwitsi Reserve, named after the Shingwedzi River and now in northern Kruger National Park, was proclaimed in 1903.<ref name=McNeely127-129>Template:Cite book</ref> During the following decades all the native tribes were removed from the reserve and during the 1960s the last were removed at Makuleke in the Pafuri triangle.
In 1918 a commission was established to review the Sabi Reserve. The first secretary of the commission was Johannes Andries (Dries) de Ridder, a civil servant. <ref name=Stevenson/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Counterintuitively, the commission actually recommended reducing the size of the park in order to allow greater commercial exploitation of the land.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1923, the Minister for Lands, Deneys Reitz, led a survey expedition around the reserve and devised a scheme whereby the government would exchange state land outside the reserve with that of the local private landowners in order to establish a true national park.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Reitz |first1=Deneys |editor1-last=Emslie |editor1-first=Trevor |title=Adrift on the Open Veld |date=1999 |publisher=Stormberg |location=Cape Town |isbn=978-0-6202-4380-3 |pages=613-615</ref> During the same year, the first large groups of tourists started visiting the Sabi Game Reserve, but only as part of the South African Railways' popular "Round in Nine" tours. The tourist trains travelled the Selati railway line between Komatipoort on the Mozambican border and Tzaneen in the then northern Transvaal.<ref name=Bulpin>Template:Cite book</ref>
Following a change of government in 1924, Reitz's scheme was implemented by the new Lands Minister, Piet Grobler.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In May 1926, Grobler introduced a National Parks Bill to parliament, which passed on 11th June 1926, finally establishing the modern Kruger National Park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The name Kruger was officially proposed by Judge J.A.J de Villiers at a meeting of the National Monuments Commission and especially appealed to Grobler himself as a great-grandnephew of Paul Kruger. Behind the scenes it had been championed by English-speaking naturalists in order to win Afrikaner support for the Park.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Kruger National Park
By the passage of the National Parks Act of 1926, Sabi Game Reserve, the adjacent Shingwedzi Game Reserve, and farms were combined to create Kruger National Park.<ref name=lonely468/> In line with the scheme developed by Reitz, private landowners in total exchanged a total of 196,000 acres of land in the reserve for 135,000 acres of government land on the outside, as well financial restitution, which totalling £40,000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The previous Sabi Reserve Warden, James Stevenson-Hamilton, became Warden of the new park. A Board of Trustees was appointed to run the park, chaired by Senator W. J.C. Brebner (chairman), and including a range of politicians, naturalists and philanthropists: Deneys Reitz, Oswald Pirow, H.B. Papenfus, R. A. Hockly, Sir Abe Bailey, W.A. Campbell, Alwin Karl Haagner, Gustav Preller, and A.E. Charter, who served as secretary.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1928 the head of the South African Air Force, Sir Pierre van Ryneveld, personally led an airborne expedition by three Board of Trustees members to investigate the effect of low-flying airplanes on game. The Board members included Deneys Reitz, who used the data from this trip to frame regulations on flying over the Park.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Warden James Stevenson-Hamilton retired on 30 April 1946, after 44 years of service. He was replaced by Colonel J. A. B. Sandenbergh of the South African Air Force.<ref name=Bulpin/> In 1959, work commenced to completely fence the park's boundaries. Work started on the southern boundary along the Crocodile River and in 1960 the western and northern boundaries were fenced, followed by the eastern boundary with Mozambique. The purpose of the fence was to curb the spread of diseases, facilitate border patrolling and inhibit the movement of poachers.<ref name=Bulpin/>
The Makuleke area in the northern part of the park was forcibly taken from the Makuleke people by the government in 1969 and about 1500 of them were relocated to land to the south so that their original tribal areas could be integrated into the greater Kruger National Park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1996 the Makuleke tribe submitted a land claim for Template:Cvt, namely the Pafuri or Makuleke region in the northernmost part of the park.<ref name="Claim-19960806">Template:Cite web</ref> The land was given back to the Makuleke people, however, they chose not to resettle on the land but to engage with the private sector to invest in tourism. This resulted in the building of several game lodges from which they earn royalties.Template:Cn
In the late 1990s, the fences between the Kruger Park and Klaserie Game Reserve, Olifants Game Reserve, and Balule Nature Reserve were dropped and incorporated into the Greater Kruger Park with Template:Cvt added to the Reserve. In 2002, Kruger National Park, Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, and Limpopo National Park in Mozambique were incorporated into a peace park, the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.<ref name=lonely468/>
In 2025 the government suggested that the name of the park should be changed to Skukuza National Park due to the negative legacy left by former president Paul Kruger. The name is also representative of what locals called the park prior to it being made a national park.
Location and geography
Template:Multiple image The park lies in the northeast of South Africa,<ref name=Foxcroft33/> in the eastern parts of Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces. Phalaborwa, Limpopo is the only town in South Africa that borders the Kruger National Park. It is one of the largest national parks in the world, with an area of Template:Cvt. The park is approximately Template:Cvt long,<ref name=Foxcroft33/> and has an average width of Template:Cvt.<ref name=lonely468/> At its widest point, the park is Template:Cvt wide from east to west.<ref name=Foxcroft33/> To the north and south of the park two rivers, the Limpopo River and the Crocodile respectively, act as their natural boundaries. To the east, the Lebombo Mountains separate it from Mozambique. Its western boundary runs parallel with this range, roughly Template:Cvt distant. The park varies in altitude between Template:Cvt in the east and Template:Cvt in the south-west near Berg-en-Dal. The highest point in the park is here, a hill called Khandzalive. Several rivers run through the park from west to east, including the Sabie, Olifants, Letaba and Luvuvhu while the Crocodile River (Mpumalanga) and Limpopo River run along the parks border.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Skukuza weatherbox Template:Phalaborwa weatherbox Template:Weather box The climate of the Kruger National Park and lowveld is subtropical/tropical, specifically a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh). Summer days are humid and hot. The rainy season is from September until May. The Kruger National Park website lists September and October as the driest periods, culminating at the beginning of the rainy season late in October. Because the park spans Template:Convert from north to south, climate can vary throughout the park. Skukuza in the southern part of the park is about Template:Convert cooler throughout the year than Pafuri in the north, with significantly more rainfall.
Biodiversity
Vegetation
Plant life consists of four main areas, which correspond roughly to the four quadrants of the park. The main veld types are determined by the rainfall gradient (400 to 750 mm per annum) and geological substrates.
Shrub mopane veld
Shrub mopane covers almost the entire northeastern part of the park.
Red bush-willow and mopane veld
This area lies in the park's western half, north of the Olifants River. The two most prominent species here are the red bush-willow (Combretum apiculatum) and the mopane tree (Colophospermum mopane).
Thorn trees and red bush-willow veld
This area lies between the western boundary and roughly the centre of the park south of the Olifants River. Combretums, such as the red bush-willow (Combretum apiculatum), and Acacia species predominate while there are a great number of marula trees (Sclerocarya afra). The Acacias are dominant along the rivers and streams, the very dense Nwatimhiri bush along the Sabie River between Skukuza and Lower Sabie being a very good example.
Knob-thorn and marula veld
South of the Olifants River in the park's eastern half, this area provides the most important grazing land. Species such as red grass (Themeda triandra) and buffalo grass (Megathyrsus maximus) predominate while the knob-thorn (Senegalia nigrescens), leadwood (Combretum imberbe) and marula (Sclerocarya afra) are the main tree species.
Local vegetation communities
Several smaller areas in the park carry distinctive vegetation. The Pretoriuskop sourveld and Malelane mountain bushveld receive relatively high rainfall. Here sickle bush and silver cluster-leaf (Terminalia sericea) are prominent. The sandveld communities northeast of Punda Maria are equally distinctive, with a wide variety of unique plant species. The bush-clad hills along the Levuvhu River also shelter an interesting floral diversity and some near-endemic species.
Mammals
All the big five game animals are found at Kruger National Park, which has more species of large mammals than any other African game reserve (at 147 species). There are webcams set up to observe the wildlife.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Kruger supports packs of the endangered African wild dog, of which there are thought to be only about 400 in the whole of South Africa.<ref>Hogan, C. M. 2009. Painted Hunting Dog: Lycaon pictus, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg Template:Webarchive</ref>
| Species | Count (2009) | Count (2010)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Count (2011)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
|---|---|---|---|
| South-central black rhinoceros (D. b. minor) | 350 | 590–660 | – |
| Blue wildebeest (C. t. taurinus) | 9,612 | 11,500 | 6,400–13,100 |
| Chapman's zebra (E. q. chapmani) | 17,797 | 26,500 | 23,700–35,300 |
| Bushbuck | 500 | 500 | – |
| African buffalo (S. c. caffer) | 27,000 | 37,500 | 37,130 |
| Common eland | 300 | 460 | 460 |
| African bush elephant | 11,672 | 13,700 | 13,750 |
| South African giraffe (G. c. giraffa) | 5,114 | 9,000 | 6,800–10,300 |
| Greater kudu (nominate ssp.) | 5,798 | 9,500 | 11,200–17,300 |
| Hippopotamus (H. a. capensis) | 3,000 | 3,100 | 3,100 |
| Impala (nominate ssp.) | 150,000 | 120,000 | 132,300–176,400 |
| Lichtenstein's hartebeest (A. b. lichtensteinii) | – | 50 | – |
| Mountain reedbuck (nominate ssp.) | – | 150 | 150 |
| Nyala | – | 300 | 300 |
| Roan antelope (nominate ssp.) | – | 90 | 90 |
| Sable antelope (nominate ssp.) | – | 290 | 290 |
| Common warthog (P. a. sundevallii) | – | 3,500 | 3,100–5,700 |
| Waterbuck (nominate ssp.) | 5,000 | 5,500 | 3,100–7,800 |
| Southern white rhinoceros (C. s. simum) | 7,000 to 12,000<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 10,500 | – |
| African wild dog (L. p. pictus) | 240 | – | 120 |
| Southeast African cheetah (A. j. jubatus) | 120 | 120 | 120 |
| Nile crocodile | – | 4,420 | 4,420 |
| African leopard (P. p. pardus) | 2,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| Lion (P. l. melanochaita) | 2,800 | 1,600 | 1,620–1,720 |
| Spotted hyena | 2,000 | 3,500 | 5,340 |
Birds
Template:Multiple image A fairly uniform aggregate of bird species is present from the southern to central areas of the park, but a decline in diversity is noticeable in the mopane-dominated flats northwards of the Olifants.<ref name="kem1">Template:Cite book</ref> Most species breed in summer when rains sustain most vegetable and animal food, but the larger birds of prey conversely breed during the dry winter, when their prey is most exposed.<ref name="kem1"/>
Constituting the southern lowveld, the park's avifaunal affinities are mainly with the tropical north. Some representatives of this group are the African openbill, hooded vulture, Dickinson's kestrel, white-crowned lapwing, brown-necked parrot, Senegal coucal, broad-billed roller, trumpeter hornbill, Böhm's spinetail, tropical boubou, Meves's starling and scarlet-chested sunbird.<ref name="kem1"/> Some 30 waterbird and wader species are dependent on the rivers or associated dams,<ref name="pet1">Template:Cite web</ref> including the African finfoot, white-backed night heron, white-crowned lapwing and water thick-knee. Other species are limited to riparian thicket or forest, including African goshawk, crested guineafowl, Natal spurfowl, Narina trogon, Pel's fishing owl, bearded scrub robin, terrestrial brownbul and black-throated wattle-eye. This habitat is often reduced by drought<ref name="pie1">Template:Cite web</ref> or floods or the understorey is opened up by elephant.<ref name="kem1"/>
Some of the larger birds require large territories or are sensitive to habitat degradation. Six of these birds, which are by and large restricted to Kruger and other extensive conservation areas, have been assigned to a fanciful grouping called the "Big Six Birds".<ref name=bsb>Template:Cite web</ref> They are the lappet-faced vulture, martial eagle, saddle-billed stork, kori bustard, ground hornbill and the reclusive Pel's fishing owl, which is localized and seldom seen. The 2011 aerial survey found 22 martial eagle nest sites, the 2015 survey an additional 17, while the 2020 survey found 70 nest locations in all,<ref name="hwi1">Template:Cite web</ref> though the activity of these has yet to be determined. There are 25 to 30 breeding pairs of saddle-billed storks in the park, besides a handful of non-breeding individuals.<ref name=bsb/> In 2012 178 family groups of ground hornbills roamed the park and 78 nests were known, of which 50% were active.<ref name=nj>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2013, it was estimated that 904 pairs of white-backed vulture, 78 pairs of lappet-faced vulture and 60 pairs of white-headed vulture breed in the park.<ref name="mur1">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Other vertebrates
Kruger is inhabited by 114 species<ref name="bar1"/> of reptile, including black mambas, African rock pythons, and 3,000 Nile crocodiles. As yet, knowledge of the densities and distributions of the reptiles, especially on smaller spatial scales, is limited by sampling bias and a strong dependence on the park's public infrastructure is evident.<ref name="bar1">Template:Cite journal</ref> 34 species of amphibians are found in the park,<ref>Pienaar, Passmore & Carruthers, Die Paddas van die Nasionale Krugerwildtuin. Sigma Press, 1976</ref> as well as 49 fish species. A Zambezi shark, Carcharhinus leucas, also known as the bull shark, was caught at the confluence of the Limpopo and Luvuvhu Rivers in July 1950. Zambezi sharks tolerate fresh water and can travel far up rivers like the Limpopo.<ref>Pienaar, U. de V., The Freshwater Fishes of the Kruger National Park, Koedoe Vol 11, No 1 (1968)</ref>
Invertebrates
219 species of butterfly and skipper are native to the park.<ref name="williams">Template:Cite web</ref> The fastest and most robust of these belong to the genus Charaxes,<ref name="otto">Template:Cite web</ref> of which 12 species have been recorded.<ref name="kloppers">Template:Cite book</ref> Genera Papilio and Acraea are also well-represented, with about 10 and 15 species respectively.<ref name="kloppers"/> The total number of Lepidoptera species in the park is unknown but could be in the order of 7,000, many of which range widely in African savanna. The mopane moth in the northern half of the park is one of the best known, and communities outside the park have at times been given permits to harvest their caterpillars.<ref name="kpcoza1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="maota">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The park has a high diversity of termites and 22 genera are known to occur, including the mound-building genera Macrotermes, Cubitermes, Amitermes, Odontotermes and Trinervitermes.<ref name="meyer">Template:Cite journal</ref> A new species of woodlouse, Ctenorillo meyeri, has been discovered inside termite nests, east of Phalaborwa and near Mopani Rest Camp.<ref name="taiti">Template:Cite journal</ref> It is the first instance of a termitophilous species from the family Armadillidae. Many species of mosquito occur in the park, including the Culex, Aedes and Anopheles genera which target mammals. A. arabiensis is the most prevalent of the 9 or more Anopheles species in the park, and their females transmit malaria.<ref name="munh">Template:Cite journal</ref> As of 2018, 350 species of arachnids, excluding ticks and mites, are known from Kruger.<ref>Dippenaar-Schoeman et al., 2018</ref> These are mostly true spiders, including 7 species of baboon spider, but also 9 scorpion and 7 pseudoscorpion species, 18 solifugid species (sun and roman spiders), 2 species of harvestmen and 1 species of tailless whip scorpion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Threats
The park's ecosystem is subject to several threats, including intensive poaching, urban development at its borders,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> global warming and droughts,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> animal overpopulation,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and mining projects.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Light pollution produced by rest camps and nearby towns affects the biodiversity of Kruger National Park. In particular, it alters the composition of nocturnal wildlife<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the hunting behaviour of predators.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2022 it was announced that Nkosi City, an R8 billion development is planned near the western border of the park.<ref name="bt1">Template:Cite news</ref>
Floods or raising of the walls of the Massingir and Corumana dams in Mozambique could potentially damage, by silting, the pristine gorges of the Olifants and Sabie rivers respectively.<ref name="bat1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="str1">Template:Cite news</ref> The Olifants River Gorge has a deep, single thread, pool-rapid structure which is home to many crocodiles, besides hippos and fish. The fish population of the Olifants has already been diminished by hundreds of dams in its upper reaches.<ref name="str1"/>
Anti-poaching measures
Kruger National Park's anti-poaching unit consists of 650 game rangers, assisted by the South African Police Service and the South African National Defence Force including the South African Air Force.<ref name=transfront2/> As of 2013, the park is equipped with two drones borrowed from Denel and two Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopters, donated by the Royal Air Force to augment its air space presence.<ref name = vilj/><ref name=et2>Template:Cite news</ref> Automated movement sensors relay intrusions along the Mozambique border to a control center,<ref name=et>Template:Cite news</ref> and a specialist dog unit has been introduced.<ref name=vilj2>Template:Cite news</ref> Buffer zones have been established along the border with Mozambique,<ref name=et6>Template:Cite news</ref> from where many poachers have infiltrated the park, as an alternative to costly new fences.<ref name=et9>Template:Cite news</ref> The original 150 km long fences were dropped in 2002 to establish the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.<ref name=transfront2>Template:Cite news</ref> The national anti-poaching committee oversees all activities and coordinates interested parties.<ref name=jm>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=et5>Template:Cite news</ref>
Poachers
Kruger's big game poachers operate with night vision instruments and large caliber rifles, fitted with suppressors and sophisticated telescopic sights.<ref name=bv6>Template:Cite news</ref> They are mostly Mozambique citizens who initiate their carefully planned incursions from the border region of South Africa and Mozambique.<ref name=vilj8>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2012, about 200 poachers were apprehended,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> while about 30 were killed in skirmishes.<ref name=et3>Template:Cite news</ref> In July 2012, a Kruger game ranger and policeman were the first to die in an anti-poaching operation,<ref name=et4>Template:Cite news</ref> while other employees reported intimidation by poachers.<ref name=vilj11>Template:Cite news</ref> A Kruger personnel strike affected some anti-poaching operations,<ref name=bv7>Template:Cite news</ref> and some employees have been directly implicated.<ref name=vilj12>Template:Cite news</ref> Rangers in and around the park have been pressured or blackmailed by poaching syndicates to provide intelligence on the whereabouts of rhinos and anti-poaching operations.<ref name="gro">Template:Cite news</ref>
In December 2012, Kruger started using a Seeker II drone against rhino poachers, which was loaned to the South African National Parks authority by its manufacturer Denel Dynamics, South Africa.<ref name=Schl>Template:Cite news</ref>
In June 2019, a Helix surveillance aircraft system was deployed on night missions in the park, and apprehended half a dozen suspected poachers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other threats to poachers include the dangerous nature of the park itself. In February 2018, a poacher was believed to have been trampled by elephants and then eaten by lions, leaving rangers to later find only a human skull and a pair of trousers, alongside a loaded hunting rifle.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In December 2021, two accused poachers were arrested in the Kruger National Park's Skukuza after they were discovered in possession of unauthorized rifles and ammunition.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Rhino
Poachers make no distinction between white and black rhinos,<ref name=ho>South Africa's 18,780 white and 1,916 black rhinos were still increasing in 2012, see: Template:Cite news</ref> but losses of black rhinos are low due to their reclusive and aggressive nature.<ref name=vilj9>Template:Cite news</ref> Rhino horn fetches between $66,000 and $82,000 per kilogram,<ref name=vilj10>Template:Cite news</ref> and the CITES ban has proved largely ineffectual against the trade in rhino horn.<ref name=et7>Template:Cite news</ref> The second horn is sometimes also hacked from the skull to obtain about 100 ml of moisture that is sold locally as traditional medicine Muti.<ref name=vilj9/>
Poaching rhino horn escalated in the 21st century, with 949 rhinos killed in Kruger in the first 12 years,<ref name=vilj>Template:Cite news</ref> and more than 520 in 2013 alone.<ref name= 4-killed>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=yah>Template:Cite web</ref> A memorandum of agreement is seen as a necessary milestone in stemming the tide between South Africa and Vietnam, in addition to the one with China,<ref name=et9/><ref name=wz>Template:Cite news</ref> while negotiations have not yet started with Thailand.<ref name=et8>Template:Cite news</ref> The amount of rhino horn held in storage is not publicly known.<ref name=et11>Template:Cite news</ref> Since 2009, some Kruger rhinos have been fitted with invisible tracing devices in their bodies and horns which enable officials to locate their carcasses and to track the smuggled horns by satellite.<ref name=cc/> South Africa's 22,000 white and black rhinos represent some 93% of these species' world population, 12,000 of which are found in Kruger.<ref name=cil>Template:Cite news</ref>
In July 2022, Navara, an elephant poacher who frequented Kruger, was arrested in Maputo in a sting operation for possessing rhino horns.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of 2023, he is serving a 30-year prison sentence.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Elephant
Kruger experienced significant elephant poaching in the 1980s.<ref name=cc>Template:Cite news</ref> Due to international and national efforts, including a worldwide ban on ivory sales beginning in 1989, the poaching was abated for many years, but a sharp rise in 2014 has continued and the numbers of elephants poached per year in the park is growing at an alarming rate.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Following approval by CITES, 47 tonnes of stockpiled ivory from Kruger were auctioned on 6 November 2008. The sale fetched approximately US$6.7 million which was allocated to increased anti-poaching measures. The intention was to flood the market, crash prices and make poaching less profitable. But instead, the legal sale was followed by "an abrupt, significant, permanent, robust and geographically widespread increase" in elephant poaching, as subsequent research showed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The 2019 Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna summit voted down proposals for further one-off ivory sales from stockpiles for having led to increases in poaching across the continent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Across the continent the African elephant population decreased 30% in the period between 2007 and 2014. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Other
It is foreseen that the placement of wire traps to procure meat would eventually become the most challenging form of poaching.<ref name=ms>Template:Cite news</ref> A scheme has been proposed to reward adjacent communities with the proceeds of game sales in return for their cooperation in game preservation.<ref name=ms/> The larger communities include Bosbokrand, Acornhoek, Hazyview, Hoedspruit, Komatipoort, Malelane, Marloth Park, Nelspruit and Phalaborwa.<ref name=cil/> Communities along the northern boundary have complained about a number of issues that affect them, including livestock killed by escaped predators.<ref name="ntl1">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2021 and 2022 there were cases of poisoning of carcasses near Punda Maria, evidently to obtain the body parts of scavengers.<ref name="maj1">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2025, at least 123 vultures died in a mass poisoning caused by the consumption of an elephant carcass laced by poachers with pesticides at the park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Gates to the Kruger Park
Template:Multiple image The Kruger Park has the following gates:
| Name | Road | From Town | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crocodile Bridge Gate | on the extension of Rissik Street | from Komatipoort | Template:Coord |
| Malelane Gate | on the R570 off the N4 | near Malelane | Template:Coord |
| Numbi Gate | on the R569 road | from Hazyview | Template:Coord |
| Phabeni Gate | on the road off the R536 | from Hazyview | Template:Coord |
| Paul Kruger Gate | on the R536 road | from Hazyview | Template:Coord |
| Orpen Gate | on the R531 road | from Klaserie | Template:Coord |
| Phalaborwa Gate | on the R71 road | from Phalaborwa | Template:Coord |
| Punda Maria Gate | on the R524 road | from Thohoyandou | Template:Coord |
| Pafuri Gate | on the R525 road | from Musina | Template:Coord |
See also
- Abel Chapman
- Battle at Kruger
- Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park
- Hemmersbach Rhino Force
- Kruger to Canyons Biosphere
- Kruger National Park in the 1960s (a timeline of events)
- List of protected areas of South Africa
- Makuleke
- Sabi Sand Game Reserve
- SanWild Wildlife Sanctuary
- Skukuza
References
Further reading
External links
Template:Sister project links Template:GeoGroup
Template:Biodiversity of South Africa Template:Authority control