Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BOTSWANA'S ENDANGERED SPECIES
According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), species which are listed as 'vulner-
able' in Botswana include the cheetah, black-footed cat, lion and hippo. In greater trouble and listed as 'en-
dangered' is the African wild dog, while the black rhino is considered 'critically endangered'.
Lizards are everywhere; the largest are
leguaans
(water monitors), docile creatures that
reach over 2m in length. Smaller versions, savannah
leguaans
, inhabit small hills and
drier areas. Also present in large numbers are geckos, chameleons and rock-plated lizards.
Although Nile crocodiles are threatened elsewhere in Southern Africa, the Okavango
Delta is full of them. You will hear rather than see them while gliding through the chan-
nels in a
mokoro
(traditional dugout canoe). Frogs of every imaginable shape, size and
colour are more delightful; they jump from reeds to a
mokoro
and back again, and provide
an echoing chorus throughout the delta (and elsewhere such as the Boteti River in
Makgadikgadi Pans National Park) at night.
INSECTS & SPIDERS
Botswana boasts about 8000 species of insects and spiders. The most colourful butterflies
can be found along the Okavango Panhandle (the northwestern extension of the delta),
and include African monarchs and citrus swallowtails. Other insects of note include stick
insects, expertly camouflaged among the reeds of the Okavango Delta; large, scary but
harmless button spiders; and sac spiders, which look harmless but are poisonous (although
rarely fatal) and live mainly in rural homes. The delta is also home to grasshoppers, mo-
pane worms and locusts, as well as mosquitoes and tsetse flies in increasing and poten-
tially dangerous numbers.
Scorpions are not uncommon in the Kalahari; although their sting is not fatal, it can be
painful.
BIRDS
Botswana is not only a big wildlife country but also a birding paradise. Between Septem-
ber and March, when the delta is flush with water, you should be able to train the lenses of
your binoculars on any number of Botswana's 593 recorded species, including the delta's
famous African skimmers, the endangered wattled crane, slaty egrets, African jacanas,
bee-eaters, pygmy geese and the shy Pel's fishing owl. You can still see many bird species
