Moremi Game Reserve

The Moremi Game Reserve was officially proclaimed on 15 March 1963 and named after Chief Moremi III of the Batswana people. The reserve is considered one of the first in Africa that the indigenous people formed. It was not Chief Moremi III who started it, but his widow. She was concerned with the area's degradation due to unsustainable hunting and cattle encroachment. Initially, the reserve only included what is known as 'the Mopane Tongue,' but in the 1970s, it was expanded to include Chief Moremi's royal hunting grounds. Only a game reserve was proclaimed and not a national park, which allowed the indigenous people to continue residing in the area.

Ngamiland, that area around Moremi, was initially occupied by the Basarwa or Bushmen. In the 18th century, the WaYeyi, a Bantu-speaking people, moved there from north-western Botswana and northeastern Namibia. The Basarwa were led there by a local skilled fisherman and hunter named Hankuzi. Hankuzi married one of the WaYeyi women, forming a peaceful bond between the Bushmen and the WaYeyi. The Basarwa Bushmen taught the WaYeyi new fishing techniques, and the WaYeyi brought their canoe-building technology to Ngamiland. When the influential Batswana people arrived in the 19th century, the WaYeyi voluntarily became serfs of the Batswana, as it was suitable to be attached to a powerful household.

The life-giving waters of the Okavango Delta draw masses of wildlife. It is both a seasonal and permanent home to various species. Huge elephant and buffalo herds visit the area, and the endangered black and white rhinoceros occur only on Chief's Island. It is also one of a few places hosting brown and spotted hyenas. The very dangerous hippopotamus and Nile crocodile live in the delta. Plains game species like giraffe, Burchell's zebra, and blue wildebeest are abundant. Beautiful antelope species such as sitatunga, lechwe, the greater kudu, and sable antelope also occur.

Healthy populations of endangered African wild dogs reside here. The reserve offers one of the last natural and significant habitats for wild dogs. Cheetahs also inhabit the area. They are not easy to spot because they must constantly hide to avoid more formidable rivals like lions and leopards. The cunning black-backed jackal is always scavenging for sustenance, bringing the night alive with its calls. More than 400 species of bird are occurring here, including Pel's fishing owl, the lilac-breasted roller, and much more.

This conservation area has received many accolades regarding its conservation efforts. In addition to being the first African reserve that residents established because they were concerned for their ancestral heritage, it is also the only officially protected area in the Okavango Delta. The reserve covers almost a third of the hallowed Okavango and boasts one of the continent's richest and most diverse ecosystems. The Okavango Delta is one of the largest inland river deltas in the world. Seasonally or perennially wet, it encompasses several waterways, pools, lagoons, pans, riverine vegetation, acacia, mopane forests, and grasslands.

The mopane forests are one of the main vegetation-related attractions of the park. The trees can grow to gigantic proportions, which dwarf everything below them. Other areas of interest include the swamp landscapes of the Black and Xinyi pools and the wide open spaces of the common floodplains. Moremi is known for its rivers -the Khwai and Joa Rivers and their tributaries, vein into the plains and sustain many life forms. Negotiations are underway to include the park in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, which will ultimately span five countries.