The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers 1,390,000 km2 (540,000 sq mi), slightly less than half of the Nile's. The 2,574 km (1,599 mi) river rises in Zambia and flows through eastern Angola, along the north-eastern border of Namibia and the northern border of Botswana, then along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe to Mozambique, where it crosses the country to empty into the Indian Ocean.
Lake Ngami is an endorheic lake in Botswana, north of the Kalahari Desert. It is seasonally filled by the Taughe River, an effluent of the Okavango River system flowing out of the western side of the Okavango Delta. It is one of the fragmented remnants of the ancient Lake Makgadikgadi. Although the lake has shrunk dramatically beginning from 1890, it remains an important habitat for birds and wildlife, especially in flood years.
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.
The Cuando River 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.
The Kalahari Basin, also known as the Kalahari Depression, Okavango Basin or the Makgadikgadi Basin, is an endorheic basin and large lowland area covering approximately 725,293 km2 (280,037 sq mi) — mostly within Botswana and Namibia, but also parts of Angola, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The outstanding physical feature in the basin, and occupying the centre, is the large Kalahari Desert.
Stephen James Backshall is a British naturalist, explorer, presenter and writer, best known for BBC TV's Deadly 60.
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.
The Zambezian flooded grasslands is an ecoregion of southern and eastern Africa that is rich in wildlife.
Botswana–Namibia relations refers to the current and historical relationship between Botswana and Namibia. Botswana gained independence from Britain in September 1966. Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990 following the Namibian War of Independence, and the two countries soon after established formal diplomatic relations. Botswana has a high commission in Windhoek. Namibia has a high commission in Gaborone. Both countries are members of the Southern African Development Community, African Union, Group of 77, and Commonwealth of Nations.
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 Mbukushu people, also known as the Hambukushu, are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group indigenous to Southern Africa. They are part of the larger Lozi ethnic group and have significant populations in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia, numbering around 120,000.
Bwabwata National Park is a protected area in northeastern Namibia that was established in 2007 and covers 6,274 km2 (2,422 sq mi). It was created by merging Namibia's Caprivi Game Park and Mahango Game Park. It is situated in the Zambezi and Kavango East regions, extending along the Caprivi Strip. It is bounded by the Okavango River to the west and the Kwando River to the east. Angola lies to the north and Botswana to the south.
Mudumu is a National Park in Caprivi Region of north-eastern Namibia. Established in 1990, the park covers an area of 737 square kilometres (285 sq mi). The Kwando River forms the western border with Botswana. Various communal area conservancies and community forests surround Mudumu National Park.
Rick Lomba (1950–1994) was a South African documentary filmmaker, environmentalist and Carte Blanche cameraman. He was also a lobbyist at the European Parliament and the US Congress against their cattle policies in Botswana. His main concern was the invasion of cattle into the Okavango Delta and the construction of the Northern Buffalo Fence. He was killed in 1994 while on location in Angola filming the Luanda Zoo Rescue Operation when he was attacked by an escaped Bengal tiger.
Wilderness is an ecotourism operator, headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. It operates camps and mobile safaris across seven countries: Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Known for its ongoing conservation work, the company is helping to conserve some 33 species on the IUCN Red List and lists some 2.5 million hectares as being under protection.
Madinari Island is a remote island in the central Okavango Delta, Botswana. Madinari, meaning "Mother of Buffalo", is one of the stops during National Geographic explorer Steve Boyes' continued mokoro expeditions across the Okavango Delta.
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.
Beverly Joubert is a South African-born wildlife photographer, filmmaker, conservationist and National Geographic explorer-in-residence.
