Kafue, the Busanga Plains and Lochinvar

 

The grasslands of Kafue National Park

Kafue National Park is situated within the Kafue River basin, which covers a vast swathe of central Zambia, west of Lusaka. Roughly the size of Wales, it is one of the world's largest parks and its grasslands extend for hundreds of miles around the forest-lined banks of the Kafue River. The region is teeming with all kinds of game and when the Busanga Plains flood between March and May the area becomes a bustling haven to thousands of hippos and a multitude of bird species.

The size of the park and its enormous variety of habitats means that the different animals and birds are spread out into distinctive localities.

Lochinvar

Further down the Kafue's course is the small national park of Lochinvar, home to enormous herds of endemic Kafue lechwe and a sprinkling of other plains game. With the seasonal flooding of the river, the area becomes a shallow lagoon that attracts a colourful array of birds and turns the once grassy plains into a vast flat surface that reflects the sky like a mirror and is a remarkable sight.

The shy sitatunga

The north of the park, around the Busanga Plains, is home to the rare and shy sitatunga, a skittish antelope that will hide underwater when faced by sufficient danger. They are extremely good swimmers and have also evolved enlarged hooves, allowing them to move effortlessly over floating reed islands. Further south, there are red lechwe and puku, zebra and blue wildebeest. Oribi, roan and sable also live here. Elephant, buffalo, kudu, bushbuck, eland, Lichtenstein's hartebeest, reedbuck, common duiker, grysbok and defassa waterbuck are frequent, while lion, leopard and spotted hyena are the principal predators here. Cheetah are rare and although wild dog are only seen very occasionally, Kafue is their predominant stronghold in Zambia. The waters are alive with a great many hippos and crocodiles.