The Pilansberg National Park is located just a stone’s throw away from Sun City, a well-known entertainment and leisure resort. The national park is not very big by African standards, just about five hundred and fifty sq km ( two hundred and twelve sq mi ), which is not large when compared to Kruger or other parks. However, the park is, by all means, a rewarding destination that has an authentic wilderness feel. The park has almost all the big names among wild animals.
The Pilansberg National Park is located in the midst of a massif that is close to one thousand two hundred million years old. It is a volcanic relic that consists of four mountain rings with a common center.
The Pilansberg is the peak that is of the most height that towers at a height of one thousand nine hundred sixty feet ( six hundred meters ), above Lake Mankwe. This is located at the center of a now inactive volcano. The circular bowl of the now inactive volcano was recognized as the ideal location for a national park, the sides of which can act as natural boundaries.
This area was under agriculture till nineteen seventy-nine. Operation Genesis was set up around then so that the land could be rehabilitated, as well as stocked with game. The game stocking enterprise was one of the best planned and most innovative plans, and after a number of years, the Pilansberg National Park hit headlines.
The park contains close to ten thousand animals and is an extremely popular destination with both tourists and locals. The park houses different African games and this is inclusive of the Big Four. The ‘Big Four’ is the name given to the big four of the animal kingdom. There are a huge number of leopards, lions, buffaloes, white rhinoceros, elephants, hippos, zebras, giraffes, antelopes, gemsbok, jackals, hyenas, kudu, eland, sable, and many others. Cape Vultures, an endangered species of vulture, are also to be seen here.
