Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Central Kalahari Game Reserve

The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is a national park in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. It was established in 1961 and is the second largest game reserve in the world, covering 52 800 square kilometers. The Bushmen have inhabited the area for thousands of years, having roamed the land as nomadic hunters. Today, the national hunting ban prevents Bushmen from practicing their traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle, despite the fact that private game farms have allowed hunting by tourists. The area is mostly flat, gently undulating, with sand dunes covered in scrub and grasses, and some areas with larger trees. Many of these river valleys have been fossilized by salt pans. Through the reserve meander four fossilized rivers, including Deception Valley, which began to form about 16 000 years ago. The park is home to wild animals such as giraffe, elephant, White Rhino, Cape Buffalo, Spotted Hyena, Brown Hyena, Honey Badger, Meerkat, Yellow Mongoose, Warthog, Cheetah, Caracal, Cape Wild Dog, Black-Backed Jackal, Bat-Eared Fox, Cape Fox, leopard, lion, Wildebeest, zebra, eland, Sable Antelope, South African Oryx, Springbok, Steenbok, Impala, Greater Kudu, Aardvark, South African Ground Squirrel, Cape Hare, Cape Porcupine, Cape Baboon, Cape Hartebeest and ostrich.