THE BIG FIVE
Many visitors come here to see the big five, but there's so much more. As well as the many birds and marine animals, the small animals like the incredibly cute bushbaby, the curious meerkat and the ubiquitous dassie or rock hyrax are, perhaps, more interesting than the big guys.
But, for the record, the big five are lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo and elephant. Now this grouping is certainly not because they are the most interesting animals in the bush, or even the biggest, in which case we would have to include hippos and giraffes - and even eland are much bigger than leopards.
They're certainly not the prettiest - and not even the most dangerous. They are simply the ones that tend to put up the most argument about being shot for trophy purposes. The buffalo, for instance, is a mostly placid beast that is most definitely not hard to find. But once you have wounded one all resemblance to Daisy the Cow is gone. This otherwise almost somnambulant beast becomes one of the most dangerous animals in the bush and the one probably most feared by hunters. The reasons for including the rhino and elephant are pretty obvious, as they are hard to kill, being such enormous animals and they also (not surprisingly, actually) take great umbrage at being shot. Lions - well - need we elucidate. Lions are pretty scary, which no-one would deny, and one would need to get pretty close to one to get in a killing shot so the chances of becoming the hunted instead of the hunter is quite good. And as for those cute spotty leopards - firstly, they're really hard to find and secondly, they can certainly do a serious amount of damage if they get in the first "shot".
So, really, it is only the hunting fraternity that even considers these the most "interesting" animals but they certainly are wonderful to see. And if you do get a good look at a leopard, you're pretty lucky. Both because of the rarity factor and the fact that they are just downright beautiful.
But there are other animals which should be higher on the list of must-sees. In some of our National parks you may get a good sighting of the very endangered and rare African wild dog. Cheetahs are quite easily seen in some parts of Kruger and they are beautiful. And then there are some nocturnal animals which are rarely seen, like the beautiful red lynx or caracal, and the very unusual and extremely seldom-seen aardvark.
So, if you miss out on one or two of the big five, don't despair. Just concentrate on what you have seen. And look at your surroundings with wonder. Even the ubiquitous impala that you can see almost everywhere in Kruger is incredibly beautiful if you take the time to study its dainly legs and beautiful face, and watch the delicate grace with which it moves.
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