Kruger National Park
INTRODUCTION
The Kruger national park* is the greatest animalist reserve of South Africa. It covers a surface of more than 20 000 km², 350 km is long of north in the south and broad of 60 km is in west. The park is located in the North-East of the country, in the east of Transvaal. It is bordered in the west and the south by the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, in north by Zimbabwe, and the east by Mozambique. It covers most of low Eastern Veld. The Kruger park is gathered today with the Gonarezhou national park in Zimbabwe and the Limpopo National park in Mozambique in the large transborder park of Limpopo.
HISTORY
The first human presence known in this sector goes back to -1 500 000 years. It is only in year 200 of our era that the first "ngunis" (black) migrated of north in this area and expelled the Env. ones Into 800, the Arabs began their first raids in search of slaves starting from the ports of the island of Moçambique.
The first Europeans to have explored the area are the Netherlanders in 1725. In 1845, João Albasini, a 18 years old Italian, is the first European to be settled, close of what today is called Pretoriuskop. Gold was discovered in 1873 in Pilgrim's Rest and in 1881 in Barberton creating a gold rush, in spite of the lions*, the malaria and the crocodiles. At that time the decline begins from the animal fauna of the east of Transvaal.
In 1898, Sabie Game Reserve was created. After the Second Second Boer War, in 1902, major James Stevenson-Hamilton was named as a first guard of the reserve. A few months later, the reserve increased, increased zones ranging between the Sabie river and the Olifants river. In 1903, the northern zone was set up in protected area against the hunters under the name of Singwitsi Game Reserve including a ground triangle between the rivers Luvuvhu and Limpopo where the borders of Mozambique, South Africa and Southern Rhodesia meet (future Zimbabwe).
Stevenson-Hamilton made expel protected areas all the tribes which lived there and made proceed to a rebirth of the fauna which had been decimated by huntings or the epidemics. In same time, it made drive out all the predatory ones to reintroduce the antelopes. In 1912, a railway line crossed the reserve, bringing the first tourists to it. In 1926, all the reserves are gathered in the first national park of South Africa which receives the name of Paul Kruger, at the origin of very first of them. In 1926, the Kruger national park is opened with the public.
In 1935, more than 26 000 people visit the park (around a million in the years 2000). The lions* being the principal attraction of the park, Stevenson-Hamilton made stop hunting for the predatory ones. In the years 1960, artificial ponds were created for fauna. In 1991, Robbie Robinson became the new executive chief of South African National Parks Board* and have the responsibility of ensure the transition from the park in the South Africa news removed from apartheid. He made cut down the fences which delimited the park of the private reserves which are next to it, allowing freedom of movement of animal fauna.
In 1998, David Mabunda becomes the first black director of the Kruger national park and is now the executive chief of South African National Parks Board*. In 2003, members of South African National Parks Board* do not hesitate to state publicly their wish to rename the park of the name of Nelson Mandela. Some say that shortly, it will be the new name of the park. The same year, the administrative committee of South African National Parks Board* asks that the statue of Paul Kruger who is next to the park be unbolted just like the busts of Kruger and Stevenson-Hamilton located inside the park with the camp of Skukuza. The decision is deferred following the outcry caused in the African population.
FLORA OF THE PARK
The park being very vast it has a remarkable botanical diversity naturally. The northern half of the park, north of the Olifants river is mainly covered of forests of mopane so much so that one speaks about mopane veld. In the south on the other hand the zones are strewn with thornveld (discontinuous gramineous dry formation with small trees and thorn-bush).
The Kruger National park is divided into 6 ecosystems different from 1982 species of plants. There exist 336 species of trees in the park.
FAUNA OF THE PARK
Mammals :
The 5 large animals are gathered under the denomination of "Big Five" (the most sought by the hunters and today by the tourists) which understands the lions*, the African elephant, the leopard*, the rhinoceros and the buffalo. These are also animals that one finds in abundance in the park.
In 2004, one counted approximately 145 species different of mammals such as the black rhinoceros, the white rhinoceros*, the hippopotamus, the giraffe, the zebra*, the warthog, the caracal*, the cheetah*, the African wild dog*, the spotted hyena, the aardwolf and well of others of which you can download the list by clicking on the icon of mammalian file pdf => 
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Birds :
The Kruger national park shelters more than 500 species of birds of which some are endemic in South Africa. Hornbills, Starlings, Vultures, Rollers, Bee-eaters and Shrikes characterize the omnipresent avifauna of the park, besides a multitude of birds of prey* and the birds representing the "Big 6" such as the Saddle-billed Stork, the Kori Bustard, the Martial eagle, the Lappet-faced Vulture, the Pel's Fishing-Owl and Ground Hornbill.
The extreme north of the park is regarded as one of the high place of observation of birds of the country. Birds of prey* are also omnipresent such as the bateleur, the Martial eagle, the Black-chested Snake eagle, Brown Snake eagle, African Hawk eagle, African Fish eagle and Tawny eagle which one can see regularly and which are the targets more in sights of the ornithologists amateurs.
Reptiles, fish and amphibians :
There are 119 species of reptiles in the park including 5 000 Nile crocodiles, 52 fish species and 35 species of Amphibians.
EXTERNAL LINKS
http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger
http://www.lowveldexplorers.com
