The Addo Elephant Park is situated about 75 km north-east from the Port Elizabeth city centre. The Addo Elephant Park is one of the National Parks that resort under the jurisdiction of the South African National Parks Board. As can be deduced from the name the park is dedicated to the elephant, but they are not the only animals to be found here. In excess of a 100 species of mammal and reptile can be viewed. Bird watchers will be able to enjoy themselves as more than 400 species have been identified within the park limits.

The African elephant is the largest living land animal and weighs up to 5,400 kg. It inhabits the Savannah, brush, forest, river valleys, and semi-desert regions of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Besides its greater size, it differs from the Asian elephant in having larger ears and tusks, a sloping forehead, and two "fingers" at the tip of its trunk, compared to only one in the Asian species. As vegetarians, elephants require much food, sometimes consuming more than 225 kg of plant matter a day. Their trunk is employed to pull branches off trees, uproot grass, pluck fruit, and to place food in their mouths. The trunk is also used for smell, touch and in drinking, greeting or throwing dust for dust baths. In both sexes, the two incisor teeth of the upper jaw grow to form tusks, and it is for this ivory, used at one time in the manufacture of piano keys, billiard balls, and other objects, that hunters have slaughtered thousands of these magnificent animals.

The leopard is the smallest of the great cats (lion, tiger, jaguar, leopard). Male leopards may be as much as 50% larger than the females. The leopard has an elongated body set on relatively short and stocky legs. The paws are broad. Its ears are short and rounded. They have a very short and sleek coat. Their color varies from light tawny to deep rusty yellow, with a lighter underside. They have dark spots on their face, head, throat, chest, and legs. The rest of their body is covered in "rosettes". Leopards can also be totally black.

An adult Black Rhinoceros stands 1.4-1.7 m high at the shoulder and is anywhere from 3-3.65 m in length. An adult weighs from 800 to 1400 kg, with the females being smaller than the males. Two horns on the skull are made of keratin with the larger front horn typically 50 cm long, exceptionally up to 140 cm. Occasionally, a third smaller horn may develop. Skin colour depends more on local soil conditions and their wallowing behaviour than anything else, so many black rhinos are typically not truly black in colour.

The African Buffalo may reach 2.1 m in length, weigh more than 670 kg, and reach a height of 1.5 m at the shoulder. Once popular trophies for hunters, these large and often dangerous animals have continued to capture the imagination. Buffaloes have earned a bad reputation from hunters and other people who come in close contact with them. They are unpredictable and can be dangerous if cornered or wounded. Though they have been known to ambush men and are often accused of deliberate savagery, they are usually placid if left alone.

Addo Elephant Park is home to the rare flightless dung beetle (Circellium bacchus). It has a very restricted distribution and has captured the imagination of visitors to the Addo Elephant Park in the Eastern Cape, where road signs warn motorists not to drive over elephant and buffalo dung pads in the roads, for fear of crushing the beetles.

For more information visit the official Addo Elephant Park website.