Nature is still surprising us and that’s a wonderful thing. Last week The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) announced that it had discovered the longest land-mammal migration in Africa – and it’s not the one that occurs in the Serengeti!
Robin Naidoo and a team of researchers have now proven that thousands of Burchell’s zebra migrate over 300 miles a year; from the Chobe River floodplains in Namibia to the Nxai Pan National Park in Botswana – and then back again.
The astonishing fact of the discovery (to me) is that the entire migration takes place within the boundaries of KAZA or Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. Established in 2011 by the governments of Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Angola, KAZA is the largest multi-country conservation area in the world. It consists of 109 million acres and includes Victoria Falls, the Okavango Delta, the Makgadikgadi Pans, and many other natural and historical wonders. The breadth and scope of KAZA is astounding. Close to half of Africa’s total elephant populations live here; black and white rhinos, lions, cheetahs, buffalo, wild dogs, leopard, and more. It is one of the most extraordinarily wild places on the planet.
This video shows how GPS collars were placed on eight female zebras. (Apparently, the females were gentler on their collars.) This enabled the researchers to record their exact locations every five hours. The data was then uploaded via satellite and mapped.
If you’re interested in viewing this migration and/or this part of the world (one of my favorites) I’ve placed the following links to some really great safaris to some spectacular locations.
