Botswana is a vast, sun-baked, arid land where water is extremely precious, yet it is highly esteemed for its safaris and game. We respect Botswana tremendously for its dedication to conserve what makes it beautiful and so special. The Government of Botswana has set aside thousands of square kilometers of national territory as protected areas (around 17% of the country area) and wildlife management areas (another 20% of the country). Among the largest protected areas in Botswana are Chobe National Park in the north, Central Kalahari Game Reserve (second largest protected area in the world), Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta and the recently launched Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park which spans the border between Botswana and South Africa.
The majority of the population is concentrated on the eastern side, beyond that, Botswana is a largely roadless wilderness of savannas, deserts, wetlands and salt pans. It has huge tracts of wilderness for the adventurer to experience! Botswana is a land of the starkest contrasts and of diverse beauties. It is here that you will find one of the world’s natural wonders, the unrivalled Okavango Delta, which is the largest inland delta in the world. The delta waters meet the sands of the Kalahari desert making the whole area incredibly beautiful and scenic, hence it is known as the ‘Jewel of the Kalahari’. Although most famous for the stunning safari wetlands and rivers of the north, Botswana is dominated by the inhospitable Kalahari Desert.
Botswana is well known for its diverse range of wildlife. Most of the major African game species can be found, along with a number of species that are endemic to the region. The country is home to 164 species of mammals, 157 of reptile, 80 of fish, 550 of bird and uncountable different kinds of insects.
The mammals that may be seen include the following: vervet monkey, chacma baboon, wild dog, bat-eared fox, black-backed jackal, large-spotted genet, small-spotted genet, mongoose, spotted hyaena, brown hyena, lion, leopard, cheetah, aardvark, Burchell’s zebra, square-lipped (white) rhino, warthog, giraffe, common duiker, klipspringer, springbok, steenbok, impala, blue wildebeest, tsessebe, gemsbok, sable antelope, roan antelope, reedbuck, waterbuck, lechwe, bushbuck, kudu, eland, red hartebeest, buffalo, hippopotamus, and elephant.
The birds you are most likely to see include the following: ostrich, cormorant; darter, hammerkop, greater and lesser flamingo; pygmy goose, knobbilled duck and Egyptian goose; African jacana; black korhaan and kori bustard; Cape vulture, bateleur eagle and African fish eagle. The majority of these species can be seen in the Okavango Delta and Chobe River in northern Botswana.
The reptiles are divided into crocodilians, tortoises, terrapins and turtles, snakes, lizards and amphibians. Some of the most common for Botswana are: crocodile, python, gecko, tortoise, black mamba, green mamba, Cape cobra, Egyptian cobra, spitting cobra, horned adder, egg eater, tiger snake, boomslang, shield-nose snake, Cape skink, striped skink, bushveld lizard, sand lizard, ground agama and flap-neck chameleon.
National Parks and Game Reserves include: Chobe National Park, the park that has the most varied wildlife of all of Botswana’s parks and home of the largest elephant population in the world; Mokolodi Nature Reserve, for those who want to get close to African wildlife without going on safari (The Mokolodi Wildlife Foundation is a charity dedicated to conservation and education projects. All revenues from visitor activities are used to fund these projects); Moremi Game Reserve, one of the most beautiful wildlife reserves in Africa, it combines mopane woodland and acacia forests, floodplains and lagoons; Okavango Delta where game viewing is great all year round; the Central Kalahari Game Reserve; and Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park.
