The Okavango River, is a river in southwest Africa. It is known by this name in Botswana, and as Cubango in Angola, and Kavango in Namibia. It is the fourth-longest river system in southern Africa, running southeastward for 1,600 km (1,000 mi). It begins at an elevation of 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) in the sandy highlands of Angola. Farther south, it forms part of the border between Angola and Namibia, and then flows into Botswana. The Okavango does not have an outlet to the sea. Instead, it discharges into the Okavango Delta or Okavango Alluvial Fan, in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert. The Cuito River is a major tributary.
The Okavango Delta in Botswana is a vast 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 endorheic basin of the Kalahari.
Jeremy John Crosby Mallinson was an English conservationist and author associated with the Durrell Wildlife Park and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, where he was director emeritus.
Moremi Game Reserve is a protected area in Botswana. It lies on the eastern side of the Okavango Delta and was named after Chief Moremi of the BaTawana tribe. Moremi was designated as a game reserve, rather than a national park, when it was created. This designation meant that the BaSarwa or Bushmen that lived there were allowed to stay in the reserve.
Jonathan Scott is an English zoologist, wildlife photographer and television presenter specializing in African wildlife.
Eye of the Leopard is a 2006 National Geographic documentary directed by Dereck and Beverly Joubert. Set in the Mombo region of the Okavango Delta, Botswana, the film explores the life of a female leopard, Legadema, as she matures from a cub to an adult. Jeremy Irons, voice actor of Scar from Disney's 1994 animation The Lion King, narrates the film. It premiered in the US on the National Geographic Channel on October 8, 2006, and has won many awards including the BBC wildscreen Panda award for Best Sound Wild Screen and an Emmy. Since the success of the film, a book and an app of the same title have been released.
The wildlife of Botswana refers to the flora and fauna of this country. Botswana is around 90% covered in savanna, varying from shrub savanna in the southwest in the dry areas to tree savanna consisting of trees and grass in the wetter areas. Even under the hot conditions of the Kalahari Desert, many species survive; in fact the country has more than 2500 species of plants and 650 species of trees. Vegetation and its wild fruits are also extremely important to rural populations living in the desert and are the principal source of food, fuel and medicine for many inhabitants.
Sioma Ngwezi National Park is a 5,000-square-kilometre park in the south west corner of Zambia. It is undeveloped and rarely visited, lacking roads and being off the usual tourist tracks, but this may change in the future.
Botswana's principal tourist attractions are its game reserves, with hunting and photographic safaris available. Other attractions include the Okavango Delta region, which during the rainy season is a maze of waterways, islands, and lakes. The tourism industry also helped to diversify Botswana's economy from traditional sources such as diamonds and beef and created 23,000 jobs in 2005.
Andy Biggs is an American wildlife photographer. He is best known for his black and white safari photography of the wildlife and landscapes of Africa.
Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area is the second-largest nature and landscape conservation area in the world, spanning the international borders of five countries in Southern Africa. It includes a major part of the Upper Zambezi River and Okavango basins and Delta, the Caprivi Strip of Namibia, the southeastern part of Angola, southwestern Zambia, the northern wildlands of Botswana and western Zimbabwe. The centre of this area is at the confluence of the Zambezi and Chobe Rivers where the borders of Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe meet. It incorporates a number of notable national parks and nature sites, including Chobe National Park, Hwange National Park, and the Victoria Falls. The region is home to a population of approximately 250,000 animals, including the largest population of African Elephants in the world.
The Last Lions is a 2011 African nature documentary film by National Geographic Society, videotaped and directed by Dereck and Beverly Joubert. It was shot in Botswana's Okavango Delta. The film premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January 2011 and was released in select theaters the following month on February 18. The film follows in the tradition of other National Geographic big cat films, such as India: Land of the Tiger and Eye of the Leopard.
Great Plains Conservation is conservation and tourism organization, it helps manage several wildlife reserves in Kenya, Botswana and Zimbabwe. The group currently operates 18 safari camps, which include luxury lodges and tented camps. Great Plains Conservation works together with local governments and community groups to promote low-density, environmentally conscious tourism, supplying economic incentives for the protection of wildlife.
Keith Eric Joubert was a South African artist and conservationist, and elder brother of wildlife filmmaker and conservationist Dereck Joubert.
The Southeast African cheetah is the nominate cheetah subspecies native to East and Southern Africa. The Southern African cheetah lives mainly in the lowland areas and deserts of the Kalahari, the savannahs of Okavango Delta, and the grasslands of the Transvaal region in South Africa. In Namibia, cheetahs are mostly found in farmlands. In India, four cheetahs of the subspecies are living in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh after having been introduced there.
Sharon Pincott is an Australian author and specialist in African elephant behaviour. She has studied the social structure and population dynamics of a single clan of wild elephants extensively, and advocates for ending ivory trade and promoting conservation.
Paula Kahumbu is a wildlife conservationist and chief executive officer of WildlifeDirect. She is best known as a campaigner for elephants and wildlife, spearheading the Hands Off Our Elephants Campaign, which was launched in 2014 with Kenyan First Lady Margaret Kenyatta. She has recently in 2022 been appointed as the first National Geographical Explorer as a board of Trustees member at the National Geographic Society.
Into the Okavango is a 2018 American National Geographic documentary film written, directed and produced by Neil Gelinas. It focuses on a team of modern-day explorers who go for a 1500 mile, four-month expedition through Angola, Botswana and Namibia to save the Okavango River that joins the Okavango Delta. The film was predominantly shot in Angola and Botswana. It was released on 22 April 2018 and gained critical acclaim for the portrayal of wildlife. It was also screened at a handful of international film festivals and won several awards and nominations.
Adjany da Silva Freitas Costa is an Angolan biologist and conservationist from Huambo who served as the Angolan Minister of Culture, Tourism and Environment from April to October 2020.
Jen Guyton is an American photographer and ecologist known for her work in wildlife conservation and photographic work as a National Geographic Explorer.
