LIVE AFRICAN WILDLIFE WEBCAM AT ROSIES PAN

More info: Balule Game Reserve shares open borders with Kruger National Park and is, therefore, part of a huge ecosystem and home to all major safari animals. The reserve has over 30 species of mammals ranging from plains game such as zebra, wildebeest and giraffe to predators such as lion, leopard and cheetah.

The Olifants River attracts an abundance of wildlife, including elephants, buffalo, waterbuck, and giraffe as well as an impressive hippo population which can be found wallowing in the river during the day. More than 220 different kinds of birds inhabit the area including raptor species such as lappet-faced vulture, Pel's fishing owl, martial eagle and impressive larger birds such as kori bustard, ground hornbill and saddle-billed stork. Civets and honey badgers are just two of the rarer creatures sometimes encountered.

The Balule area of the Greater Kruger National Park initially consisted of various separate fenced game farms. In the early 1990s, landowners decided to remove the fences which divided their properties, to promote conservation by increasing the range of the grazing area for the local wildlife and diversifying the animal gene pool. By the end of the decade, most Balule landowners had joined in the venture creating a much larger area for game to roam unhindered by fences, and hunting was curtailed.

When Kruger authorities noted the ecological benefits, they decided to incorporate the Balule area into the Greater Kruger National Park by removing the fence between the Kruger Park and Klaserie Game Reserve as well as between the Klaserie and Olifants Game Reserves. Today the Balule reserve covers around 40,000 hectares.