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Chobe National Park
Chobe National Park is Botswana's first national park, and also the most biologically diverse. Located in the north of the country, it is Botswana's third largest park, after Central Kalahari Game Reserve and Gemsbok National Park, and has one of the greatest concentrations of game in all of Africa. This park is noted for having a population of lions which prey on elephants, mostly calves or juveniles, but also subadults. History The original inhabitants of this area were the San bushmen (also known as the Basarwa people in Botswana). They were nomadic hunter-gatherers who were constantly moving from place to place to find food sources, namely fruit, water and wild animals. Nowadays one can find San paintings inside rocky hills of the park. At the beginning of the 20th century, the region that would become Botswana was divided into different land tenure systems. At that time, a major part of the park's area was classified as crown land. The idea of a national park which woul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Wildebeest
The blue wildebeest (''Connochaetes taurinus''), also called the common wildebeest, white-bearded gnu or brindled gnu, is a large antelope and one of the two species of wildebeest. It is placed in the genus '' Connochaetes'' and family Bovidae, and has a close taxonomic relationship with the black wildebeest. The blue wildebeest is known to have five subspecies. This broad-shouldered antelope has a muscular, front-heavy appearance, with a distinctive, robust muzzle. Young blue wildebeest are born tawny brown, and begin to take on their adult coloration at the age of 2 months. The adults' hues range from a deep slate or bluish-gray to light gray or even grayish-brown. Both sexes possess a pair of large curved horns. The blue wildebeest is a herbivore, feeding primarily on short grasses. It forms herds which move about in loose aggregations, the animals being fast runners and extremely wary. The mating season begins at the end of the rainy season and a single calf is usually born a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (other), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (other), tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other purposes". Tourism can be Domestic tourism, domestic (within the traveller's own country) or International tourism, international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments. Tourism numbers declined as a result of a strong economic slowdown (the late-2000s recession) between the second half of 2008 and the end of 2009, and in consequence of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antelope
The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals belonging to the family Bovidae of the order Artiodactyla. A stricter definition, also known as the "true antelopes," includes only the genera ''Gazella'', ''Nanger'', ''Eudorcas'' and ''Antilope''. One North American species, the pronghorn, is colloquially referred to as the "American antelope," but it belongs to a different family from the African and Eurasian antelopes. A group of antelope is called a herd. Unlike deer antlers, which are shed and grown annually, antelope horns grow continuously. Etymology The English word "antelope" first appeared in 1417 and is derived from the Old French ''antelop'', itself derived from Medieval Latin ''ant(h)alopus'', which in turn comes from the Byzantine Greek word ἀνθόλοψ, ''anthó ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Puku
The puku (''Kobus vardonii'') is a medium-sized antelope found in wet grasslands in southern Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and more concentrated in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Nearly one-third of all puku are found in protected areas, zoos, and national parks due to their diminishing habitat. Description Puku stand about at the shoulder and weigh from . The puku is sandy brown in colour, with the underbelly a slightly lighter brown. The coat is rougher than that of the similar-sized southern reedbuck, lechwe or impala, or the smaller oribi. Males have 50-cm-long, ridge-structured horns which are lyre-shaped. Subspecies There are two subspecies, the Senga Puku (''Kobus vardonii senganus'') and the southern puku (''Kobus vardonii vardonii''). Ecology Puku are found almost exclusively in marshy grassland and dambos, where they eat grasses. The puku diet is flexible in regards to type of grasses consumed. There is little dietary competition with othe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sable Antelope
The sable antelope (''Hippotragus niger'') is an antelope which inhabits wooded savanna in East and Southern Africa, from the south of Kenya to South Africa, with a separate population in Angola. Taxonomy The sable antelope shares the genus ''Hippotragus'' with the extinct bluebuck (''H. leucophaeus'') and the roan antelope (''H. equinus''), and is a member of the family Bovidae. In 1996, an analysis of mitochondrial DNA extracted from a mounted specimen of the bluebuck showed that it is outside the clade containing the roan and sable antelopes. The cladogram below shows the position of the sable antelope among its relatives, following the 1996 analysis: Subspecies ''Hipotragus niger'' has four subspecies: * The southern sable antelope (''H. n. niger''; also known as the common sable antelope, black sable antelope, Matsetsi sable antelope or South Zambian sable antelope) is regarded as the nominate subspecies, as it was the first one to be described and named in 1838. Often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angolan Giraffe
The Angolan giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis'' or ''Giraffa giraffa angolensis''), also known as the Namibian giraffe, is a subspecies of giraffe that is found in northern Namibia, south-western Zambia, Botswana, and western Zimbabwe. Taxonomy A 2009 genetic study on this subspecies suggests the northern Namib Desert and Etosha National Park populations each form a separate subspecies. However, genetic studies based on mitochondrial DNA do not support the division into two subspecies., but could identify giraffes in southern Zimbabwe as the Angolan giraffe, suggesting a further eastward distribution than expected. Description This subspecies has large brown blotches with edges that are either somewhat notched or have angular extensions. The spotting pattern extends throughout the legs but not the upper part of the face. The neck and rump patches tend to be fairly small. The subspecies also has a white ear patch. Habitat Home range size of Angolan giraffes was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Bush Elephant
The African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana'') is one of two extant African elephant species and one of three extant elephant species. It is the largest living terrestrial animal, with bulls reaching a shoulder height of up to and a body mass of up to . It is distributed across 37 African countries and inhabits forests, grasslands and woodlands, wetlands and agricultural land. Since 2021, it has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. It is threatened foremost by habitat destruction, and in parts of its range also by poaching for meat and ivory. It is a social mammal, travelling in herds composed of cows and their offspring. Adult bulls usually live alone or in small bachelor groups. It is a herbivore, feeding on grasses, creepers, herbs, leaves, and bark. The menstrual cycle lasts three to four months, and females are pregnant for 22 months, the longest gestation period of any mammal. Taxonomy ''Elephas africanus'' was the scientific name proposed by Johann Fri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chobe River
The Cuando River (or Kwando in the non-colonial spelling) is a river in south-central Africa flowing through Angola and Namibia's Caprivi Strip and into the Linyanti Swamp on the northern border of Botswana. Below the swamp, the river is called the Linyanti River and, farther east, the Chobe River, before it flows into the Zambezi River. Course The Cuando rises in the central plateau of Angola on the slopes of Mount Tembo, thence flowing southeast along the Zambian border. Along this reach it flows in a maze of channels in a swampy corridor 5–10 km wide (map 1: the border with Zambia is the eastern bank of this floodplain, not the river channel). As with all rivers in south-central Africa its flow varies enormously between the rainy season when it floods and may be several kilometres wide, and the dry season when it may disappear into marshes. The Cuando continues in its marshy channel across the neck of the Caprivi Strip of Namibia (map, 2) and then forms the bord ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baikiaea Plurijuga
''Baikiaea plurijuga'', known as African teak, Mukusi, Rhodesian teak, Zambian teak or Zambesi redwood, is a species of Afrotropical tree from the legume family, the Fabaceae from southern Africa. Description ''Baikiaea plurijuga'' is a medium-sized deciduous tree with pinnate leaves each with 4-5 pairs of opposed leaflets. They show pink to deep mauve flowers have yellow stamens and are clustered in large axillary racemes; it flowers from November to April. The fruit are flattened, woody pods with a hooked tip which splits explosively sending the seeds out over some distance. Habitat ''Baikiaea plurijuga'' is confined to the Kalahari sands and the woodland which it dominates is known as Gusu woodland. This woodland grows on the deep, aeolian and fluvial Kalahari Sands which have virtually no clay or silt. These sands provide exceptional growing conditions for deep-rooting trees, but the deficiency in clay restricts tree growth to sites holding nutrients in the form of organ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afzelia Quanzensis
''Afzelia quanzensis'' (pod mahogany, af, peulmahonie, ve, mutokota, zu, inkehli) is a protected tree in South Africa. This deciduous tree can grow up to 20m in height, and has smooth, grey bark, which can flake in irregular patches. It has glossy dark green leaves and blooms between October and November. The flowers have one large red petal. After flowering, it produces a seed capsule, a thick wood-like pod, which contains black seeds with a hard, bright red aril An aril (pronounced ), also called an arillus, is a specialized outgrowth from a seed that partly or completely covers the seed. An arillode or false aril is sometimes distinguished: whereas an aril grows from the attachment point of the see ... covering one end. The seeds are sometimes made into native necklaces and the timber is an ornamental and lumber hardwood, used in furniture, parquet flooring and railway sleepers. See also * List of Southern African indigenous trees References External links * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the system through photosynthesis and is incorporated into plant tissue. By feeding on plants and on one another, animals play an important role in the movement of matter and energy through the system. They also influence the quantity of plant and microbial biomass present. By breaking down dead organic matter, decomposers release carbon back to the atmosphere and facilitate nutrient cycling by converting nutrients stored in dead biomass back to a form that can be readily used by plants and microbes. Ecosystems are controlled by external and internal factors. External factors such as climate, parent material which forms the soil and topography, control the overall structure of an ecosystem but are not themselves influenced by the ecosystem. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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