Elephant culling in the Kruger National Park has for long been a very controversial issue with ecologists, animal rights groups and the public all having their say.

Between 1966 and 1994, over 16000 elephants were culled in the Kruger Park. During this time period it was believed that the Kruger Park could sustain a population of 7000 elephants. This figure was presented after much research in 1969 and represented a concentration of 0.4 elephants/km². This is the so called carrying capacity of the Kruger Park.