An amazing tournament of animal survival at a South African watering hole is captured on a vacation video. Enlisting the help of wildlife experts, National Geographic deconstructs this battle.

Image: Filmmakers from Kruger National Park

Caught on Safari: Battle at Kruger,Original crew returns to Kruger National Park, South Africa

Caught on Safari: Battle at Kruger,Rhinos in Kruger National Park, South Africa

Caught on Safari: Battle at Kruger,Lion and jeep in Kruger National Park, South Africa

Caught on Safari: Battle at Kruger,Water buffalo in Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Caught on Safari: Battle at Kruger,Elephants in Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Kruger Facts Tab Lions and Buffalo from National Geographic Channel show Battle at Kruger: Caught on Safari

RETURN TO KRUGER
Revisit the legendary battlefield of breathtaking animal survival. Check out some facts.

The surface area of Kruger National Park is 7,580 miles² (19,633 km²)
Kruger National Park is home to an impressive number of species: 336 trees, 49 fish, 34 amphibians, 114 reptiles, 507 birds and 147 mammals.
Kruger National Park is characterized by combinations of savannah, thornveld and woodland eco-zones. Large African mammals are present. Kruger has 12 main rest camps, 5 bushvelsd camps, 2 bush lodges and 4 satellite camps.
With greater ecological cooperation across African borders, several countries bordering South Africa have agreed to take down some fences, and those between Kruger and Mozambique's Limpopo National Park and Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou, have been demolished to create the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park. This unique political innovation is creating a colossal wilderness area.
The subtropical climate has hot rainy summers starting in October and ending around March. The summer rains transform the arid park into a lush flowering paradise, but the increased foliage does make animals harder to see. The winter months from April to September are extremely pleasant with warm dry days and cold nights. Traditionally, the best game viewing is in the winter as the vegetation becomes sparse and water is restricted to rivers and water holes.
The park was first proclaimed in 1898 as the Sabie Game Reserve by the then president of the Transvaal Republic, Paul Kruger. He first proposed the need to protect the animals of the Lowveld in 1884, but his revolutionary vision took another 12 years to be realized when the area between the Sabie and Crocodile Rivers was set aside for restricted hunting.
On 31 May 1926 the National Parks Act was proclaimed and with it the merging of the Sabie and Shingwedzi Game Reserves into the Kruger National Park. The first motorists entered the park in 1927 for a fee of one pound.
There are almost 254 known cultural heritage sites in the Kruger National Park, including nearly 130 recorded rock art sites.

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Caught on Safari: Battle at Kruger

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PROTECTOR OF THE SUPERPRIDE