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Geography, History, Wildlife

History

Declared as a nationally protected reserve in 1961, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) was closed to visitors for 30 years, effectively serving as a place where the native San people could carry on their ancient hunter-gatherer lifestyle in peace.

Mark and Delia Owens lived and conducted research on wildlife in the reserve for seven years during the 1970s. Their campsite was in Deception Valley and their best-selling book Cry of the Kalahari (highly recommended) is based on their experiences during that time.

Geography

The large majority of the Central Kalahari is a massive, rolling sheet of sand that is part of the much larger Kalahari Desert. The Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) itself is much the same, but the northern portion of the reserve has the most variety of habitat and this is where the camps and overland safaris are located.

Deception Valley and Passarge Valley contain salt pans and fossilized rivers and most of the park's wildlife is concentrated here. The park authorities maintain two pumped waterholes, one at Letiahu and the other at Piper Pan, and a circuitous road network centers on this area.

Wildlife

Wildlife in the arid environment of the CKGR is not what it is in the Okavango, Chobe and Linyanti. The big game is here, but it is much more spread out and in lower densities than in the more water-rich regions to the north.

Springbok are the most common large herbivore, dispersed in small groups throughout most of the year, but concentrating in big herds on the short grass plains in the north of the park during and just after the rains (January thru April).

Springboks are hardy and successful in this arid environment due to their ability to derive all the moisture they need by browsing and grazing on plants. They often eat during the night to maximize the moisture gained, as dew often forms on the bushes and grass they eat.

Blue wildebeests once numbered 250 000 in the region, but years of drought combined with the veterinary cordon fences have all but eliminated them from much of the Central Kalahari. Today there are still small herds of wildebeest in CKGR.

Oryx (also known as gemsbok) are also here, sometimes congregating in the hundreds to feed on the fresh grasses during and after the rains, but normally in small groups for most of the year. Like springbok, oryx are extremely well adapted to hot, desert conditions and they thrive in the Kalahari.

Other herbivores commonly seen in the GKGR include red hartebeest, giraffe and eland. Greater kudu are here, although not in big numbers. Small antelopes include steenbok and common duiker.

Predators include lion, leopard, cheetah and spotted hyena, all of which are here in small numbers, as expected due to the low densities of their prey. The lower prey numbers also mean that the lions are more loosely associated and do not form large prides in this region. They are more commonly found in pairs or individually, ranging far in loose territories to hunt.

Leopard here prey on mostly small animals, including spring hares, squirrels, and mice, as well as steenbok, springbok and the calves of the large antelopes.

Cheetah do quite well in the CKGR compared to more game-rich habitats which have higher densities of other large predators. Cheetahs often lose their kills to lions, leopard and spotted hyenas elsewhere, but because the predator densities are low here, it is one of the best places in Southern Africa to see cheetah.

Other species seen in the central Kalahari include brown hyena, black-backed jackal, Cape fox, bat-eared fox, aardwolf, caracal, African wild cat, African wild dog, honey badger, genet, meerkat, and yellow mongoose.

Bird life in the region includes large numbers of ostrich, Kori Bustard, secretarybird, and northern black korhaan. Pale-chanting goshawks and yellow-billed kites are both common, plus a variety of other raptors, including bateleur, brown and black-breasted snake eagle, black-shouldered kite, rock kestrel, and martial and tawny eagle. Lanner falcons can be seen hunting doves and other small birds at the water holes.

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Geography, History, Wildlife