{"id":16896,"date":"2025-07-28T21:01:45","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T19:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kurtsafari.com\/?p=16896"},"modified":"2026-05-12T21:52:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T19:52:29","slug":"kruger-national-park-myths-whats-fact-and-whats-just-a-wild-tale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kurtsafari.com\/uk\/blog\/2025\/07\/28\/kruger-national-park-myths-whats-fact-and-whats-just-a-wild-tale\/","title":{"rendered":"Kruger National Park Myths: What\u2019s Fact and What\u2019s Just a Wild Tale?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is quite likely that you have heard all sorts of tales about all sorts of things when reading up about the Kruger National Park.<\/a> There is just so much information about so many aspects of the park that often fact is blurred with fiction, and then the fiction is sold as truth. In this blog, we\u2019re going to attempt to bring some clarity to those old myths that are still believed.<\/p>\n

Elephants get drunk from marulas<\/b><\/h2>\n

Ever seen a drunk elephant?\u00a0 That is a common story that has been told many times over.\u00a0 Elephants eat the marulas and then get drunk from it. The story is often told but have you ever met someone that has come across a drunk elephant in the Kruger National Park.\u00a0 This is an absolute myth.\u00a0 Marulas lying on the ground don\u2019t build up sufficient alcohol content to make even a man drunk.\u00a0 It\u2019s as good as saying that should a man eat rotten grapes, he too will get drunk from them.\u00a0 What is true is that elephant bulls lie down on their side and can sleep for several hours.<\/p>\n

Catch a baboon to find water<\/b><\/h2>\n

The story goes that if you want to find water you need to catch a baboon by placing salt in a hole in the ground.\u00a0 The hole must be small enough that when the baboon has a fistful he cannot extract his hand.\u00a0 Now when its hand is stuck you catch the baboon and let it eat the salt.\u00a0 Soon the baboon will get thirsty and lead you to its water source.\u00a0 This is a total myth, firstly baboons will realise their hand is stuck and let go of the salt to free itself when you approach.\u00a0 Secondly like humans, baboons don\u2019t crave salt or even need much salt in their diet.\u00a0 Like most animals, baboons simply follow the spoor of water reliant animals to find a water source.<\/p>\n

A waterbuck is not tasty meat to eat<\/b><\/h2>\n

Lucky for the waterbuck if you are the hunter, unfortunate for you as this is a myth.\u00a0 During particularly dry seasons, waterbuck may eat certain herbs and grasses that will make the meat less tasty, but then again so do some goats and sheep and it certainly taints the flavour of that meat too.\u00a0 Waterbuck do prefer to live closer to the water and that is probably where the herbs are growing.\u00a0\u00a0 That being said, waterbuck are as good to eat as any other antelope.<\/p>\n

Kill all snakes, as they are dangerous<\/b><\/h2>\n

Kill all snake as they are dangerous.\u00a0 Untrue. Not all snakes are poisonous and those that are use their venom to help them catch and digest their prey.\u00a0 As a matter of fact, snakes are a very necessary species in an ecosystem.\u00a0 Snakes help to control a number of rodents that are a pest to humans.\u00a0 In South Africa about 80 per cent of snakes are not dangerous to humans.\u00a0 As little as 12 snake species in South Africa are dangerous and then they normally only strike if they have been interfered with or feel cornered.\u00a0 Snakes definitely will not attack you, but will bite to get way from a human attack.<\/p>\n

Bats Carry Rabies<\/b><\/h2>\n

No they don\u2019t.\u00a0 Although rabies can be contracted by a bat or any other mammal for that matter, the bat will have to have been bitten by another mammal that is carrying the virus in order to get it.\u00a0 Our South African bats eat insects or fruit they are very unlikely to ever contract rabies.<\/p>\n

Paul Kruger\u2019s Millions are Somewhere in the National Park<\/b><\/h2>\n

Now here\u2019s one for the treasure hunters. Rumour has it that President Paul Kruger buried millions in gold somewhere in the park before fleeing the country. While it makes for an epic campfire story and every South African child living in the area grew up listening to that story, there\u2019s zero proof that such treasure was ever hidden here, or that anyone\u2019s come close to finding it. But hey, it adds a bit of intrigue to every walk in the bush, so you keep an eye out just in case.<\/p>\n

The Black Mamba Has a High IQ and \u201cPlans\u201d Attacks on Humans<\/b><\/h2>\n

The Black Mamba isn\u2019t writing revenge plots in a journal somewhere. While it\u2019s true this snake is lightning-fast and highly venomous, it doesn\u2019t plan to attack humans. If threatened or cornered, yes, it can be aggressive. But mostly, it\u2019s shy and will flee faster than you can say \u201cwhere\u2019s my camera?\u201d Calling it \u201cintelligent\u201d in a human way is just another exaggerated tale.<\/p>\n

There Are Too Many Elephants in the Kruger<\/b><\/h2>\n

This is a hot topic and one that sparks plenty of debate. Yes, the elephant population in the Kruger has grown steadily, but saying there are \u201ctoo many\u201d is rather simplified. Elephant numbers can impact vegetation and other species, but nature is all about balance. Conservation teams closely monitor populations and ecosystem health, and decisions are made based on data, not just dinner table opinions.<\/p>\n

When enjoying a guided <\/b>Kruger Park safari<\/b><\/a>, you can ask your guide for more information about the things you\u2019ve read or heard about the park.\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

They will be able to give you a little more clarity.\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Kruger National Park is bursting with fascinating stories, but not all of them are true. From tipsy elephants to treasure hunts, these tall tales are fun to listen to but before you get ahead of yourself, remember, they\u2019re not always true.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is quite likely that you have heard all sorts of tales about all sorts of things when reading up about the Kruger National Park. There is just so much information about so many aspects of the park that often fact is blurred with fiction, and then the fiction is sold as truth. In this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16897,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[117,126,114],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kruger-animal-tour-guide","category-kurt-safari","category-stories-of-the-kruger-national-park"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kurtsafari.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kurtsafari.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kurtsafari.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kurtsafari.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kurtsafari.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kurtsafari.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kurtsafari.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kurtsafari.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kurtsafari.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kurtsafari.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}