Hwange National Park (formerly Wankie Game Reserve) is the largest natural reserve in Zimbabwe. It is around 14,600 square kilometres in area. It lies in the northwest of the country, just off the main road between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls. The nearest town is Dete.
Hwange National Park was founded in 1928. And is being considered for inclusion in the five-nation Kavango – Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area.
The park is close to the edge of the Kalahari Desert, a region with little water and very sparse, xerophile vegetation. The Kalahari woodland is dominated by Zambezi Teak, Sand Camwood (Baphia) and Kalahari bauhinia. Seasonal wetlands form the grasslands in this area. The north and north-west of the park are also dominated by mopane woodland.
The Park hosts over 100 mammal and 400 bird species, including 19 large herbivores and eight large carnivores. All Zimbabwe’s specially protected animals are to be found in Hwange and it is the only protected area where gemsbok and brown hyena occur in small numbers.
Grazing herbivores are more common in the Main Camp Wild Area and Linkwasha Concession Area, with mixed feeders more common in the Robins and Sinamatella Wild Areas, which are more heavily wooded. Distribution fluctuates seasonally, with large herbivores concentrating in areas where intensive water pumping is maintained during the dry season.
The population of the Cape wild dogs to be found in Hwange is thought to be of one of the larger surviving groups in Africa today, along with that of Kruger National Park and Selous Game Reserve.
Other major predators include the lion, whose distribution and hunting in Hwange is strongly related to the pans and waterholes. Since 2005, the protected area is considered a Lion Conservation Unit together with the Okavango Delta.
African leopard, spotted hyena and cheetah are also present in the protected area of Hwange National Park.
Elephants have been enormously successful in Hwange and the population has increased so far above that which is naturally supported by such an area. This population of elephants has put a lot of strain on the resources of the park.
So pack up your bags and make the trip to Zimbabwe and let’s meet up at the Hwange National Park.
