:: Chobe
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Chobe covers an area of 11,646 km2 and is world renowned for the magnificent array of wildlife contained within its borders. The elephant population alone has been estimated at between 40,000 and 60,000 individuals!
A wide range of distinctive habitat areas are represented within the National Park providing a fascinating variety of experiences.
The lush, almost tropical Linyanti swamps are found in the northwest of the Park while the unpredictable, harsh and beautiful Savuti channel and marsh are located in the southwest. |
The rich floodplains of the northeast run along the banks of the meandering Chobe river which forms the northern boundary of the Park. The remainder of Chobe is arid and hot, underlain by Kalahari sands.
The Chobe River originates in the Angolan highlands where it begins life as the Kwando River. Before becoming the Chobe, the water course changes its name twice to the Linyanti and then the Itenge. The vegetation changes dramatically throughout the Park, the compacted clay soils along the river front being dominated by Mopane trees while acacia species appear further inland. The land is much drier and more open than the Okavango area with wide plains and sand ridges.
The profusion of palatable grass species attracts an impressive variety of herbivores including the ever present elephant, giraffe, wildebeest, massive herds of buffalo, impala, kudu, waterbuck, tsessebe, steenbok and warthog. Chobe is also one of the few places on earth where you will find the rare Puku antelope. Similar in size and colour to the lechwe, they are never far from water and are only found in Chobe and a few areas of Zambia. The Chobe bush-buck is another endemic species.
Chobe is also home to lion, leopard, cheetah, spotted hyena and jackal as well as smaller species such as genet, serval and bat-eared fox. In addition the range of habitat from open water and floodplain to savanna and woodland means that the bird life is amazing. Several species of eagle, owl and vulture are present as well as oxpeckers, francolins, hornbills, woodpeckers, plovers and many more.
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