Nature and Wildlife of Botswana

Albeit unrelated to Mogwana, I can't resist sharing some wonderful snapshots taken by my Japanese friend, Yasuhiro TOMINAGA who served as a volunteer eletrical engineer from Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) which is a unit of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and Huileng GOH a volunteer from Singapore International Foundation. The photos are marked with [TY] and [HL] respectively to indicate the photographer. I figured it's all part of showing you Botswana, its people and culture. If you are interested in making a trip, you can find a little official tourism publication online on the Government website.

I enjoyed reading Arold's tale of his 1997 adventure in Africa on a motorbike over a period of one and a half year. Perhaps you would too.

[HL]	The famous Baobab tree, which is known as 'Mowana' in Setswana. The one on the left was taken from a distance of about 80m. The other is a close-up to give you an idea how big the tree can grow. Unfortunately, the tree trunk is a favourite food source of the elephants.

[HL]

This was taken during my brief stay in Kuru Lodge near D'Kar, which is actually a NGO-funded project to assist the San people in Kalahari. The lodge is located about 15 km North of Ghantsi, 5 km off the northbound main road. They learn their dance move from very tender age. The boy sucking his finger on the right is only 3-year-old.

[HL]	The parents of the children and some elders in the settlement performed Tsutsube dance at night by the bonfire.

[HL]	It was about 8am and the 3 lions just had their meal about half an hour ago. So they were basking in the sun contentedly by the riverbed.
[HL]	The entire settlement of about 50 people near Tsodillo Hills rely on this borehole for water supply.
[HL]	A magnificent sunset in the Okavango Delta. Perhaps not so if you are fortunate enough to live there because you get to see this almost everyday.

[TY]	A bull elephant on heat. African Elephant (Loxodonta africana, Tlou) Height: 320 cm, Weight: 4700 kg, Life span: 70 years, Gestation: 22 months Eats 300 kg food/day. Drinks 160 litre of water/day and produces 100 kg of dung/day. Close-knit family units from large herds under a matriarchal hierarchy. Elephant graveyards are a myth.
[TY]	Gemsbok/Roan (Hippotragus equinus, Kwalata entsho) Height: 145 cm, Weight: 245 kg, Life span: 18 years, Gestation: 9 months Endangered species. Particularly prone to anthrax. Mainly grazer. Bulls and cows have horns.
[TY]	Hippopotmus (Hippopotamus amphibius, Kubu) - the number 1 man-killer of wild life. Nope, I didn't make any mistake. Despite their coy look, hippos kill more humn than any other wild life. Height: 140 cm, Weight: 1200 kg, Life span: 35 years, Gestation: 8 months Eats grass. Feeds away from water at night. Cal submerge for up to 10 minutes. Bulls scatter dung with tail in and out of water. Submerged hippo 'footpaths' visible on river beds.
[TY]	Burchell's Zebra (Equus burchelli, Pitse yanaga) Height: 130 cm, Weight: 1000 kg, Life span: 22 years, Gestation: 15 months Found on open plains, usually in large herds. Stripes are unique for each individual, like human fingerprints. Very dependent on water. Grazer.
[TY]	Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros, Tholo) Height: 145 cm, Weight: 240 kg, Life span: 18 years, Gestation: 7.5 months Excellent jumper. Can clear a 2.5 m fence with ease from a standing position. Browser. Cow without horns.

Labelled with ICRA