Chobe National Park, National reserve near Kasane, Botswana
Chobe National Park is a protected area in northern Botswana covering the Chobe River, Savuti Marsh, Linyanti Marsh, and Ngwenzumba Pans. The terrain shifts between open grasslands, mopane woodlands, and riverine vegetation along the waterways.
The area became a game reserve in 1960 and was declared a national park in 1968. Timber industry settlements were relocated by 1975 before the protected zone reached its current scope.
The San people lived across this landscape for thousands of years and left rock paintings in the elevated sections of the reserve. These artworks depict hunting scenes and animals that still move through the area today.
A four-wheel drive vehicle is necessary to handle the deep sand during dry months and softened tracks during rainy periods. The river sections suit boat trips, while interior zones require off-road vehicles.
The park's elephants are Kalahari elephants, whose herds are the largest of any known elephant population. Their ivory is rather brittle and their tusks short, perhaps because the soils are low in calcium. In the dry season they gather along the Chobe and Linyanti rivers; in the rainy season they move some 200 kilometres south-east, and their range reaches north-western Zimbabwe.
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