Gcwihaba is a cave in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

located in

Okavango Delta The Okavango Delta (or Okavango Grassland; formerly spelled "Okovango" or "Okovanggo") in Botswana is a swampy inland delta formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough at an altitude of 930–1,000 m in the central part of the en ...

region. The Gcwihaba Caves were part of the Kalahari landscape around 2 million years ago, at least for the entire period of the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

. The name of the cave is a San word and stands for "hyena's lair". The cave is situated 10 km away from the

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n border. In 1932 it was first shown to a European,

Ghanzi Ghanzi is a town in the middle of the Kalahari Desert the western part of the Republic of Botswana in southern Africa. The region is the country's pride in contributing a large portion towards the beef industry. In fact, Ghanzi farmers provides ...

region farmer Martinus Drotsky, and the main cavern was named Drotsky's cavern after him. Gwchihaba is a Botswana National Monument under the Monuments, Relics and Antiquities Act, and has been put forward to become a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

in 1999. It is the type locality of the mineral gwihabaite (IMA1994-011). Even though nothing was found in the first 50 cm of cave during the excavations to affirm that the cave was settled as a camp, 51 stone artefacts (33 of them made from

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...

) were released in the upper 50 cm of the cave. 50–80 cm of the cave is called The Terminal

charcoal layer. More cultural relics were observed in this layer. Bones of African

bullfrogs ''Bullfrog'' is a common English language term to refer to large, aggressive frogs, regardless of species. Examples of bullfrogs include: Frog species America *Helmeted water toad (''Calyptocephalella gayi''), endemic to Chile * American bullfr ...

and pieces of ostrich eggshell were among the findings. Due to the isolated nature of these caves, a special flora and fauna has developed. Some

Aloe ''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Accessed on: 06 Nov 2022 The most wid ...

species and the Namaqua fig tree are only unique to these caves' surroundings. The roots of these fig trees are attracted to humid cave space and they have grown to create beautiful curtains inside the caves. The Namaqwa fig tree in its turn is home of Rueppell's parrot which is also restricted to this area of Botswana. The area has quite a variety of bird species and also big mammals such as elephant, but perhaps scientifically more important biodeversity-wise is the invertebrate fauna surrounding as well as inside the caves. The caves are also home to large colonies of Commerson's leaf-nosed bats (which have a wingspan of up to 60 cm) and common

slit-faced bat ''Nycteris'' comprises a genus of bats commonly called slit-faced or hollow-faced bats. They are grouped in the family Nycteridae. The bats are found in East Malaysia, Indonesia, and many parts of Africa. Description They are small bats, from i ...

s ( distinguished by their long ears). Common Slit-faced Bat (Nycteris thebaica) (7027172215)

This tourism site was officially opened by the former President of Botswana, Lt Gen. Dr. Seretse Khama

Ian Khama Seretse Khama Ian Khama (born 27 February 1953) is a Botswana politician and former military officer who was the fourth President of the Republic of Botswana from 1 April 2008 to 1 April 2018. After serving as Commander of the Botswana Defence ...

, on December 18, 2014 and the facilities include the gatehouse, ablutions, boreholes, campsite and an airstrip.

References

Caves of Botswana Geological type localities {{Botswana-geo-stub