The Lion Distribution in Kruger National Park
It is probably
true to say that every first time visitor to the Kruger wants to see a lion. No
doubt Leo is the King of the African Big 5 and the most often sought. Well the
Kruger National Park or KNP does not disappoint in this area either with many
lions being seen every day in most regions or sections of the park as you can
see from the map.
This Kruger National Park website was
developed by my father, Tony Roocroft, to map all the roads in
this wonderful wildlife heritage site. He completed the project and
at the time of writing this is unfortunately not very well. His last
wish was for all the information he gathered and put together over
years of hard work was to be published... And this has become a
reality, together with lots of help from Africa On Paper publishers
the book is now available for sale, as you will see on the left. It is
unlike any other Kruger National Park and shares everything you can
imagine about the park... Please have a look at it, its great, just
click the picture to learn more about the book.
Each small green dot represents a single Lion sighting. It does not
take into account how many Lions were seen a that point in time only
that a sighting was made. Refer to the table below to see more detail on
the actual numbers sighted. Lion normally move prides of females with
cubs and 1 or 2 males in attendance for protection. Where there are
dense clusters of Lion sighting dots on the map
suggests this would be a
prime area for spotting the Lion (they tend to "follow" their prey and
buffalo is a prime target. The Lion can be seen over most of the Kruger
and is frequently seen. Lions tend to hunt at night and laze around
during the daytime.
Key to coloured dots ... Rest Camps, Trails and Camp Areas
Basis: March 2005 to Feb 2006 Ranger observations using GPS.
Source Kruger National park monthly GIS data published in pdf format on their website. Map created by Tony Roocroft using this data source.
| Species | African Lion |
|---|---|
| Mar | 265 |
| Apr | 423 |
| May | 602 |
| Jun | 632 |
| Jul | 744 |
| Aug | 703 |
| Sep | 572 |
| Oct | 547 |
| Nov | 330 |
| Dec | 398 |
| Jan | 296 |
| Feb | 223 |
| Total | 5,735 |