Kruger National Park

Counting elephants

How do we know how many elephants there are in Kruger National Park?

Kruger National Park is the size of a small country. It is home to a vast number of animals including thousands of elephants. How do we know how many there are? Many animals can be seen from public roads but there are large areas of the park which are impossible to access by vehicle. The only answer is to get a bird's eye view from the air.

For over forty years, the annual elephant air census has taken place in Kruger each winter. The pilot and observers spend several weeks flying through the park, counting every elephant they see. In some game surveys, scientists will only count animals in a small sample area and then draw conclusions about the amount of wildlife in a larger region. Kruger has always conducted a total count of all its elephants.

The count usually takes place in August or September when visibility is highest. There are few leaves on the trees, the grass is pale and dry and the skies are clear. In these conditions elephants may easily by seen up to 5km away.

Photo Left: Kruger's elephant scientist, Dr Ian Whyte, counts a herd of elephants from the air

Using a helicopter, observers are able to circle large herds. They may then see all the animals, including calves, in a group. The number of calves is recorded so that we can see how the population is developing. Three observers join the pilot so that they can watch from every side of the aircraft. One person records each elephant on a detailed map of the area. For large herds, photographs may also be taken to double-check figures when back on the ground.

Between them Simon Khoza and Obert Mathebula (Photo right) have provided ground support for Kruger's elephant census for almost a quarter of a century

In 2005, Kruger's elephant population was found to be 12,467. 1,769 were lone bulls and 10,698 were sighted within breeding herds.