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        Name Hwange (Wankie) National Park

        IUCN Management Category II (National Park)

        Biogeographical Province 3.08.04 (South African Woodland/savanna)

        Geographical Location Situated in Hwange Province on the border with Botswana, about 200km north-west of Bulawayo. 18°30'-19°53'S, 25°48'-27°27'E.

        Date and History of Establishment 1928 as a Game Reserve; National Park status in 1930

        Area 1,465,100ha. Contiguous to Deka Safari Area, Matetsi Safari Area (292,000ha), and Kazumu Pan National Park (31,300ha). Matetsi Safari Area is also contiguous to the Zambezi and Victoria Falls National Parks (56,300 and 7,900ha).

        Land Tenure Government

        Altitude 938-1,152m

        Physical Features Aeolian Kalahari sand covers some 947,000ha of the park area. The gently undulating country has 'fossil' river lines draining south-west towards the great Makgadikgadi Pans in Botswana. Parallel 'fossil' dunes occur in the centre and west. The park contains temporary seasonal pools or pans with high salt content. The more broken country in the north includes basalts, grits, sandstones, gneisses, and paragneisses where streams and rivers rise and drain north towards the Zambezi River. The climate is dry and tropical with annual precipitation about 655mm decreasing towards the south and west. The dry winter is followed by a hot dry season before the rains in the period November-March. Mean maximum temperature occurs in October 35°C and mean minimum temperature in June and July 3.5°C when frost is frequent.

        Climate No information

        Vegetation This represents the transition between dry western deserts and moist savanna woodlands with vast teak Tectona grandis forests in the north giving way in the south to the Kalahari sandveld which supports some typical woodland areas in the east dominated by Baikiaea plurijuga, Guibourtia coleosperma with B. africana, and Pterocarpus angolensis locally conspicuous over an understorey of Terminalia sericea, Combretum spp. and Acacia spp. due in part to the influences of fire and/or frost, which may lead to thicket conditions. The 'fossil' rivers and other areas with underlying calcrete are characterised by areas of open grassland often with Acacia erioloba as a conspicuous fringing tree. Mopane Colophospermum mopane, Combretum spp. and Commiphora woodland occurs on the deeper basaltic vertisols and on shallower soil in the north with open grassland in the vleis.

        Fauna There are 35 large mammal species recorded (jackal-sized or larger) and 401 bird species. The fauna represents a merging of elements from the southern savanna and south-west arid faunal elements of Africa with species typical of the Kalahari penetrating into the park from the south-west. Black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis (T) and white rhinoceros Ceratotherium simum have been reintroduced and appear to be prospering. There are strong populations of elephant Loxodonta africana (T) (15,000), buffalo Syncerus caffer (30,000), giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis, zebra Equus burchelli, hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius, warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus and a wide range of antelope including wildebeest Connochaetes sp., greater kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros, impala Aepyceros melampus, and sable Hippotragus niger. Other mammals include: lion Panthera leo, leopard P. pardus (T), cheetah Acinonyx jubatus (T), wild dog Lycaon pictus (T), and two hyena species. Birdlife varies with season with flocks of waxbills (Estrildidae), canaries Serinus spp., doves (Columbidae), francolins Francolinus spp., guinea fowl (Numididae), sandgrouse (Pteroclidae), and starlings (Sturnidae) during the dry season and migrant cuckoos (Cuculidae), swallows (Hirundinidae), swifts (Apodidae), warblers (Muscicapidae), nightjars Caprimulgus spp., Egyptian goose Alopochen aegyptiacus, red-billed teal Anas erythrorhyncha, and knob-billed goose Sarkidiornis melanotos on the pans during the wet season. Raptors include: Bateleur eagle Terathopius ecaudatus and lappet-faced vulture Torgos tracheliotus, white-backed vulture Gyps bengalensis, Cape vulture G. coprotheres, white-headed vulture1Trigonoceps occipitalis, and hooded vulture Necrosyrtes monachus.

        Cultural Heritage No information

        Local Human Population No information

        Visitors and Visitor Facilities The area is an internationally popular tourist destination. Development for visitors includes roads, shops, caravan, and campsites concentrated in the north of the park, which is also served by five hotels near the park. Access is by paved and gravel roads, rail, and an airport outside the park. There is a network of game-viewing roads, but the number of vehicles in the park is limited. Other facilities include observation platforms and hides.

        Scientific Research and Facilities The scientific staff is based at Main Camp. Research concerns ecological monitoring and broadly based studies designed to promote the ecological stability of the area.

        At park headquarters

        Conservation Value No information

        Conservation Management Total

        Special Conservation Areas or Refuges, Wilderness Areas, Wild Areas, and Development Areas are delimited.

        There are some 1,500 km of 100m-wide fire breaks in the park allied to a network of fire towers and the whole park is divided into fire-control blocks. Management policy is designed to curb habitat deterioration and includes the prevention of soil erosion and the preservation of vleis. Problems have been created by the provision of 62 artificial waterholes to render otherwise seasonally waterless areas suitable for year-round occupation by substantial numbers of water-dependent animals. The elephant population of 2,000-4,000 at the time of national park proclamation has now increased to 12,000-14,000, despite population control exercises initiated in 1962. There is a park policy document and associated management and development plans. The park has been sealed with a game fence to counteract the spread of foot-and-mouth disease by buffalo movements.

        Management Constraints There is local evidence in the park of habitat changes due to former ranching, agriculture, and logging activities and the more widespread effects of too-frequent wildfire. The park is now isolated by settlements from the Gwai River to the north-east, animals apparently congregated along the river during the dry season when much of the present park was waterless. Adjacent areas of Botswana in the west are very sparsely settled, but to the south, the park abuts peasant farming areas.

        Staff The provincial warden and four other wardens have a support staff including ranger, tourist officers, scouts, and general workers. Three ecologists and their staff are based at Main Camp.

        Budget No information

        Local Addresses

        Wankie National Park, P Bag DT 5776, Dett.

        References

        Fairly substantial literature includes departmental reports since the 1930s on history, geology, orology, pan formation, biological inventories, ecology, and interpretative material.

        Date April 1985


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