The Sehlabathebe National Park is located in the

Maloti Mountains The Maloti Mountains are a mountain range of the highlands of the Kingdom of Lesotho. They extend for about 100 km into the South African Free State. The Maloti Range is part of the Drakensberg system that includes ranges across large areas ...

Qacha's Nek District Qacha's Nek is a district of Lesotho. Qacha's Nek is the capital or camptown, and only town in the district. In the south, Qacha's Nek borders on the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, and it has a short border with KwaZulu-Natal Province i ...

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

and is part of the Maloti-Drakensberg World Heritage Site. The park was first established on May 8. 1969 and since then, it is recognized important in terms of biological diversity and cultural heritage. The landscape is dominated by a grassland of various types. The larger ecosystem functions provide freshwater to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, and

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 ...

Location

Sehlabathebe National Park is situated in the south-east corner of Lesotho at an average elevation of some 2,400 metres above sea level.

Environment

Most of the park is taken up by a designated wilderness area, and is uninhabited. Much of it consists of cliffs, waterfalls, pools, rock dwellings and rock art. It is known for its scenery with unique rock formations. The Tsoelikanyane waterfall is the biggest waterfall in the park. A total of 65 rock art sites have been identified in the area, as well as other forms of the previous habitation of the site. The park contains habitats supporting a range of Afro-Alpine and Sub-Alpine plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. The site hosts 23 percent of the plant species in the whole Maluti Drakensberg area. Some of the park's species are endangered, including three vertebrates: the

Maluti redfin The Maluti redfin (''Pseudobarbus quathlambae'') is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. It is colloquially called the Maluti minnow, but it is not a true minnow. It is Lesotho's only endemic freshwater fish, and threatened by the ...

, a critically endangered fish which is endemic to the park, the

Cape vulture The Cape vulture (''Gyps coprotheres''), also known as Cape griffon and Kolbe's vulture, is an Old World vulture in the family ''Accipitridae''. It is endemic to southern Africa, and lives mainly in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, and in some pa ...

and the

bearded vulture The bearded vulture (''Gypaetus barbatus''), also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey and the only member of the genus ''Gypaetus''. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a separate mi ...

. The Sehlabathebe water lily is an endangered aquatic plant.

Recognition

This site was added to the

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 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 ...

Tentative List on October 8, 2008, in the Mixed (Cultural + Natural) category. Sehlabathebe is currently run under the Ministry of Tourism, Environment, and Culture jurisdiction. The park has also been recognised as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

Notes

References

Sehlabathebe National Park - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Retrieved 2009-03-02. *Ramutsindela, M. (2007), ''Transfrontier Conservation in Africa: At the Confluence of Capital, Politics, and Nature'', CABI.

External links

* http://www.lonelyplanet.com/lesotho/eastern-lesotho/sehlabathebe-national-park#ixzz2pPZKta7y {{authority control National parks of Lesotho Important Bird Areas of Lesotho Protected areas established in 1969 Qacha's Nek District