The wildlife of Botswana refers to the flora and fauna of this country. Botswana is around 90% covered in savanna, varying from shrub savanna in the southwest in the dry areas to tree savanna consisting of trees and grass in the wetter areas.[1] Even under the hot conditions of the Kalahari Desert, many species survive; in fact the country has more than 2500 species of plants and 650 species of trees.[2] Vegetation and its wild fruits are also extremely important to rural populations living in the desert and are the principal source of food, fuel and medicine for many inhabitants.[3]
Three national parks and seven game reserves stretch over 17% of Botswana's land area. The three national parks are the Chobe National Park, the Nxai Pan and Makgadikgadi National Park and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The seven game reserves are the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Gaborone Game Reserve, Khutse Game Reserve, Mannyelanong Game Reserve, Maun Game Reserve and Moremi Game Reserve. In addition, a number of small privately owned reserves are maintained.[4]
- ^ Behnke, Alison (1 February 2009). Botswana in Pictures. Twenty-First Century Books. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-57505-953-2. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
- ^ "Botswana: Plants". Kidcyber.com. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
- ^ Motlhanka, D.M.T., P. Motlhanka and T. Selebatso. "Edible Indigenous Wild Fruit Plants of Eastern Botswana" (PDF). International Journal of Poultry Science. Gaborone: Department of Basic Sciences, Botswana College of Agriculture. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Main, Michael (31 October 2001). African Adventurer's Guide to Botswana. Struik. pp. 206–. ISBN 978-1-86872-576-2. Retrieved 5 April 2011.