There are lots of baby animals in Kruger National Park and young ones are just so cute! If you’re visiting the park and want to know when the best time to spot baby mammals is, we’ve organised the information so you can see it at a glance.
Newborn Baby Season
Unless mentioned in the table below, babies of any species can be born at any time of year. So no matter in which season you visit Kruger National Park, there’s always the chance to see adorable baby animals!
The information in the table is sorted by baby season. This will help you know which babies you might expect to see during your Kruger Park safari.
Baby season | Animals born |
Any time, but peaks February-March | Spotted hyena |
Any time, but peaks August-March | Cape porcupine |
Any time, but peaks August-October | Eland |
Any time, but peaks August-December and May | Nyala |
Any time, but peaks September-March | African wild cat |
Any time, but peaks October-April | Tree squirrel |
Any time, but peaks November-December | Steenbok |
Any time, but peaks December-January | Mountain reedbuck |
Any time, but peaks December-February | Burchell's zebra Cape hare |
January-February and October-November | Lesser bushbaby |
January-March | Sable antelope |
March-April | Rock dassie |
March-July | African wild dog |
May-July | Ground pangolin |
June-September | Lichtenstein's hartebeest |
July-September | Aardvark |
July-October | Black-backed jackal |
August-September | Thick-tailed bushbaby Small-spotted genet |
August-November | Brown hyena |
August-December | African civet Greater canerate Marsh mongoose |
August-January | Side-striped jackal |
August-February | African buffalo Suni |
August-March | Rusty-spotted genet |
September-November | Bat-eared fox Tsessebe |
September-December | Common warthog White-tailed mongoose |
September-January | Impala |
September-March | Single-striped grass mouse |
September-April | Aardwolf Blue monkey Eastern rock elephant shrew Serval |
September-May | Lesser red musk shrew |
October-December | Oribi |
October-January | Honey badger |
October-February | Banded mongoose |
October-March | Caracal Dwarf mongoose Slender mongoose Striped polecat Yellow mongoose |
November-December | Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat |
November-January | Bushpig Greater kudu |
November-February | Blue wildebeest |
December | Banana bat Egyptian rousette Egyptian slit-faced bat Gambian (Peters') epauletted fruit bat Hottentot golden mole |
December-February | Acacia rat Angoni vleirat Bushveld gerbil Cape serotine bat Egyptian free-tailed bat Grey climbing mouse Mauritian tomb bat Namaqua rock rat Jameson's red rock rabbit Little free-tailed bat Pouched mouse Schriebers' long-fingered bat Spotted-necked otter Sundevall's roundleaf bat Woodland dormouse |
That’s quite a list, so good luck with baby spotting!
If you’d like to see some baby photos of a selection of Kruger Park animals, see our image gallery.
The Famous Baby Buffalo
One of the most, if not the most, famous babies to have lived in Kruger National Park was a Cape buffalo calf. The baby buffalo featured in a tourist’s video which has been spread all over the internet. The video’s called Battle At Kruger. You may have heard of it
If not, it’s the story of a baby buffalo which is attacked by hunting lions. They drag the calf into water, only for it to be caught by a crocodile.
The lions get the buffalo back off the crocodile and onto dry land. The buffalo herd then rescue their baby from the clutches of the lions. Saved by the herd! The baby then leaves the scene with its herd.
We don’t know if the baby survived in the long run, because it was injured in the attack. Nevertheless, the video’s remarkable footage of a herd protecting their baby. If you haven’t watched the video, check it out!
Popular Baby Animals
There are a few types of baby mammals that people have enquired about, so we’ve put together a summary about each of them.
Baby Baboons
Baby baboons can be born at any time of year. A mother usually gives birth to just one baby at a time, but sometimes two.
You’ll often see them clinging onto their mothers’ backs or tummies or playing with other baboons their age or a little bit older than them. They look cheeky, even at such a young age!
Cheetah Babies
Seeing a cheetah in Kruger National Park is a rare event and a baby cheetah even more so! Count yourself very lucky if you do see one. A mother cheetah gives birth to 1 to 5 cubs at any time of the year.
Giraffe Babies
Did you know that the mother gives birth to her giraffe foal standing up! Because adult giraffes are so tall, the baby endures quite a drop to the ground when it’s born. Giraffes are born at any time of year.
Baby Wildebeests
Baby wildebeests are often honey-coloured with a black blaze on their noses. A mother wildebeest gives birth to one or two of them from November to February.
Babies are so cute that it seems natural to want to touch them. Because they live in a game park, tourists are not to touch any animal. Even if you tried, chances are you wouldn’t be able to anyway, because they’d run away from you in the blink of an eye. The rule is look, but don’t touch!