Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
once very rare but are now encountered more frequently. Elephants, another big drawcard,
are also found in huge herds in South Luangwa, Lower Zambezi and some other national
parks. Zambia's herds of black rhino were killed by poachers in the 1970s and '80s, but
reintroduction programs have seen rhino transported to North Luangwa National Park.
Bird lovers will love Zambia, where about 750 species have been recorded. Twitchers
used to the 'traditional' Southern African species listed in the
Roberts
and
Newman's
field
guides will spend a lot of time identifying unusual species - especially in the north and
west. Most notable are the endangered shoebill storks (found in the Bangweulu Wetlands);
fish eagles (Zambia's national bird); and the endemic Chaplin's barbets (found mostly
around Monze).
One time when you might groan at biological diversity: there are 37 different species of
tsetse flies in Kafue National Park. Chewing garlic cloves is said to help keep them away.
Plants
About 65% of Zambia, mainly plateau areas and escarpments, is covered in
miombo
woodland, which consists mainly of broad-leaved deciduous trees, particularly various
species of
Brachystegia
(another name for this type of vegetation is Brachystegia wood-
land). Some areas are thickly wooded, others are more open, but the trees never form a
continuous canopy, allowing grass and other plants to grow between them.
In the drier, hotter valleys and best-known national parks like South Luangwa and
Lower Zambezi, much of the vegetation is mopane woodland. Dominant trees are the spe-
cies
Colophospermum mopane
, usually around 10m high. The baobab tree also grows
here. Many legends and stories are associated with the striking and simultaneously grand
and grotesque tree. One has it that the gods, upset over the boababs haughty disdain for
inferior-looking flora, thrust them back into the ground, roots upward, to teach them a les-
son in humility. You'll see this landscape in Zambia's best-known national parks, Lower
Zambezi and South Luangwa.
With its many rivers and lakes, Zambia has some of the most extensive wetlands in
Southern Africa. These include the Bangweulu Wetlands, along the southern and eastern
shores of Lake Bangweulu; and the vast plains of the Kafue Flats downstream from Kafue
National Park, which is dotted with seasonally flooded marshes, lagoons and oxbow lakes.
Most grassland in Zambia is low, flat and flooded for part of the year, with hardly a tree
in sight. The largest flood-plain area is west of the Upper Zambezi - including Liuwa
Plain National Park - where thousands of square kilometres are inundated every year.
Another is the Busanga Plains in Kafue National Park.
