Zambia

Zambia is a landlocked country lying on a high plateau in south-central Africa, named after the Zambezi River, which drains all of the country except a small northern part. Much of Zambia is sparsely populated, the majority of the population is centered in the most developed area of the country, known as the Line of Rail, which is the railway line linking the Copperbelt with the capital, Lusaka, and the border town of Livingstone. Zambia has a wide range of ecosystems, including forest, woodland and grassland vegetation types, and about 12,505 identified species, 63% of which are animal species and 33% plant species. At the beginning of the 20th century, much of rural Zambia maintained game populations at a level comparable to today's national parks, and outside of reserves and parks, the 'big five' game species were widespread. Of these, the rhino is now almost completely extinct. Elephants and lions are almost entirely found in parks, while African Buffalo can be found in or near parks. Among the other large animals, the only ones found in large numbers outside the parks are the Spotted Hyena, Nile Crocodile, hippo and lechwe. The country has 242 mammal species, most of which live in forest and grassland ecosystems. The Rhodesian Giraffe and the Kafue Lechwe are among the endemic subspecies of Zambia that are well known. According to estimates, 757 species of birds have been sighted in the country, out of which 600 are resident or Afrotropic migrants, with 470 breeding in the country, and another 100 are non-breeding migratory birds. The Zambian Barbet is endemic to the country, and Zambia's official national animal is the African Fish Eagle.