After crushing drought conditions in 2016, the future for plants and wildlife in the Kruger National Park has improved and just got a lot greener. Now, two months after more rainfall, luscious hills set the backdrop for grateful animals and birds quenching their thirst. By Arnold Ras
For fauna and flora alike, the summer rains in the Kruger National Park couldn’t have come at a better time. For two years in a row the park had much less rain than usual, but now the revitalising element is working its magic.
“The grass cover and quantity in the veld has improved – for wildlife this of course means more forage. More grass cover also curbs surface run-off thereby reducing veld erosion,” explains Navashni Govender, Senior Manager: Conservation Management at SANParks.
Since the rain, a number of animals such as warthogs, impala and wildebeest have given birth. There are a lot of babies running around!
– Navashni Govender, SANParks conservation manager
15 December 2016, 16:16: Playing hide and seek perhaps, or just appreciating a water source filled to the brim? This buffalo was seen taking a dip at Ampie Waterhole on the S118. Picture by Dee Roelofsz
But has the recent rainfall been enough? “With regard to the elimination of drought conditions, no. It will certainly be a few years before we see full recovery of the plant and animal life in the Kruger,” says Navashni. “There are often lags in the effects of drought. Although the veld is green, the grass still has to recover in quantity and quality and this affects animals and other processes, such as fire. There are a number of catchments outside the park that are still unable to contribute to river flows due to insufficient rain. Finally, it is also not only the amount of rain that is important, but the timing of the rainfall events.”
1 January 2017, 07:42: This playful and upbeat zebra made a patch of greenery on the S143 near Tihongonyeni Waterhole his playground. Just the way to ring in the new year… Picture by Joep Stevens
Lynette van Schalkwyk, weather expert and anchor for news channel eNCA, says the northern and southern parts of the Kruger National Park received more than the average expected rainfall. “This said, during December last year rainfall figures for Skukuza were below average. Skukuza measured in at 43mm, although its average rainfall for December months is usually 105mm.”
What affects rainfall in Kruger?
7 January 2017, 13:25. Heaven! A sub-adult Speke’s hinged tortoise in the Lower Sabie area wastes no time to take a sip. Picture by Marijke Arends-Meiring
Lynette says during 2015 and the beginning of 2016 a strong El Niño weather system was responsible for the low amount of rain over South Africa’s summer rainfall regions and the Lowveld. “La Niña conditions contributed to the high rainfall figures for December 2016 and January 2017. Tropical weather systems are quite usual for SA’s northern parts. And due to high moisture volumes of tropical air, heavy rains can persist for long periods of time over one region. This of course causes floods.”
16 January 2017, 09:17. A marabou stork patrols soaked grass near Punda Maria on Mahonie Loop. Picture by Dianne Tipping-Woods
15 December 2016, 06:53. Now this is one happy elephant snapped at Gardenia Hide on Mlambane Loop (S119). Picture by Dee Roelofsz
29 December 2016, 07:06: After some 120mm fell at Lower Sabie the previous night, a wet black-backed jackal protects its kill as some light rain continues to drizzle down. Picture by Thinus Schoeman
7 January 2017, 12:15: With grey and heavy clouds over Kruger, this was the view from the Biyamiti River Bridge between Malelane Gate and Afsaal. Picture by Sudhir Misra
8 January 2017, 10:09: A jeep crosses the Skukuza Low Water Bridge on the H1-2. Picture by Marijke Arends-Meiring
A look at the weather systems
What is El Niño, La Niña and neutral conditions? Lynette explains:
- El Niño: When the temperature of the ocean’s surface around the equator over the central and eastern Pacific Ocean reaches 0.5˚C higher than normal for longer than three months.
- La Niña: When the temperature of the ocean’s surface around the equator over the central and eastern Pacific Ocean reaches 0.5˚C lower than normal for longer than three months.
- Neutral conditions: When the temperature of the ocean’s surface around the equator over the central and eastern Pacific Ocean is not higher or lower than normal.
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- The Kruger National Park has been monitoring and recording rainfall regularly. In both graphs the drought conditions of 2015/2016 (top) and current rainfall data of 2016/2017 (bottom) is compared to the perceived worst drought in Kruger’s history (1991/1992). Slide courtesy of SANParks
Click here to stay up to date with Kruger’s weather forecast.
Thank you for the photos Lovely and wet
After 8 years of living in beautiful South Africa, (which we. Ow call home), we had to leave and come back to the US. My last view of the Krueger was of bleak and barren velds and dying animals. Our hearts were broken. Thank you for sharing the beautiful green and the partial restoration of one of my favorite places on earth!
Hope rekindled!
What a pleasant surprise to see your comments on what is certainly our favourite place! We will be spending six nights at Lower Sabie at the end of Feb. into March, & will be thinking of you both whilst there. We miss you & Denise a lot. Love, Ed & Faye
PS – you did not have to leave RSA, – but we understand why.
It’s always amazing just how quick the veld is to recover after some good rain showers. And if there are several good rainy seasons in a row, you might never know there had been a drought. I have seen this happen in Botswana and it is such a gratifying sight. The KNP is such a special place!
Thank you for the wonderful pictures of a wet Kruger Park! It is so good to know that the worst of the suffering for the animals is over. Hope there will still be more rainfall before winter. It is not the first time that an extreme drought gripped the park. I remember a year in the early 1990’s when everything was bone dry and the animals were in search of water to drink. Long rows of zebra and wildebeest would walk kilometers to find water. And then the floods in about 2000, when the rivers created inland seas, e.g. near Letaba where the hippos were gratefully bobbing up and down and the damage to bridges and roads was everywhere to be seen. The differences were so striking!
Thx for the great photos.
I am a rank amateur bird watcher. We have had White rump swifts nesting under the eaves of our house for 13 yrs here in Port Elizabeth. They arrive annually between the 13th and 18th September. I log these details. This year they arrived TWO weeks early. After a few days of rest they vanish for up to 2 or 3 weeks. I assume they feed voraciously and sleep on the wing. They produce one or two broods during Nov and Jan. The drought here in PE is severe. Bushbuck dying on my cousins farm. Severe water restrictions. The swifts and swallows have left for where I do not know. Normally depart end March. What do they know that we do not know?
We visited the southern part of KNP in late Nov early Dec 2016. Although we were blessed with some rain during our stay the bush was tinder dry with little forage for most animals. I saw the highest number of hyena I have ever seen – at least 12 – 15 every day! How wonderful to look at the pictures of a land transformed by the recent rains. The animals must all be rejoicing as are we. Kruger remains my favourite wildlife experience in the world and I am already plotting my next visit.
We will be there on the 9th Feb to enjoy as usual.
George&Nicole
**Sigh of relieve** …. was at Kruger in July 2016 & it was sad to see ‘the paradise’ in dire state, the dry riverbeds were so sad to see, I really pray for more rain to fall & the park to recover, & more animals to be re-introduced. – “KRUGER NP MUST MAKE A COME-BACK”
I concur. July 2016 was extremely dry. It made for a few decent photos. But generally it was painfully obvious how dire the water shortage was. Waterholes were virtually all gone. Many seemed to survive on a several well placed windmills bringing water up from the depths below.