Game Safaris in Botswana: Wildlife in Savuti

The Savuti Area is a rich game area in the Chobe National Park. To the north the winding Linyanti River gives way to Namibia.

There is mopane veld, the dry Savuti Channel and a number of spectacular and very busy waterholes. As you might expect with such diverse environments the game is both prolific and varied.

Savuti's elephant population

The entire area is superb for elephant but they are possibly at their most spectacular besides the waterholes. Huge breeding herds numbering hundreds can be heard trumpeting their way through the bush coming to drink. As the sun sets, watching elephant immerge from the water then trundle up the yellow plains to the forest in a cloud of dust is one of the great sights of Africa.

Savuti's diverse fauna and flora

There are tall shady forests of jackalberry, leadwood, bird plum trees and knobthorn. Particularly large troops of baboon seem to frequent these areas, feeding in the trees, the sound of their crunching and barking echoing in the air.

Then, there are kudu, roan, sable, impala and buffalo. Warthog can be seen emerging from burrows in termite mounds early in the morning, francolins scuttle off the sandy roads and tiny bushbabies can be seen leaping from tree to tree at night.

Places to visit on a Botswana Safari: Linyati Concession

The Linyanti Concession covers 120,000 hectares of pristine wilderness.

It encompasses the winding Linyanti River, iridescent green papyrus swamps, shady forests and open grasslands. With such diverse habitats, the game is varied and prolific.

Wildlife of the Linyanti Concession

The concession area is superb for elephant, at their most spectacular along the Linyanti River, where breeding herds in their hundreds can frequently be seen crossing. They emerge, black and glistening, before trundling into the forests, trumpeting, cracking branches and leaving a cloud of dust in their wake.

There are some particularly pretty drives along the floodplains where red lechwe, impala, zebra, waterbuck and giraffe can be found, amongst a myriad of colourful birdlife including little bee-eaters, glossy ibis and wattled cranes.

Away from the river, forests of jackal berry and bird-plum trees are alive with large troops of baboon. Roan, sable, kudu, impala and buffalo can be seen shading under apple-leaf trees, and warthogs forage in the grass.

Finally, predators are ever-present with large resident prides of lion, hyena, leopard, cheetah and several packs of roaming wild dog.

Contact us for more information or to book a safari in Botswana.

Botswana Safaris: Khama Rhino Sanctuary

Affording the opportunity to see both black and white rhino - as well as an abundance of other wildlife species – the Khama Rhino Sanctuary (KRS) is a delightful stopover for tourists travelling by road to Botswana’s northern reserves, or an ideal weekend getaway for Gaborone or Francistown visitors or residents.

A mere 20 kms from the historically important village of Serowe, the accessibility of KRS is also a draw. This community tourism project, managed and staffed by local village residents, offers game drives, birding, bush walks, and arts and crafts shopping. It also has an education centre where many young children from all over Botswana come for environmental education, as well as a fun time in the bush.

KRS was established in 1989 due to growing concern over the then escalating rhino poaching situation in Botswana. Both black and white rhino – once abundant in Botswana – were during the early 1980s on the brink of local extinction, despite their having been granted protected status as far back as 1922.

Led by the Bangwato paramount Chief, the then Lt. Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama, and other conservationists, the people of Serowe conceived the idea to form a sanctuary to protect the remaining rhinos in Botswana, and hopefully give them safe haven to reproduce and gain numbers.

The first four white rhinos were reintroduced into the sanctuary from the Chobe National Park in 1992. Eight
more rhinos came from the North West National Parks in South Africa.

The highly endangered black rhino was re-introduced in 2002.

The gamble paid off , and both species are doing well, under the watchful eye of sanctuary staff as well as the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), who assist with the constant patrolling of the sanctuary’s borders.

To date, KRS has 35 white rhino, and is serving as a source for their re-introduction back to the Moremi Game Reserve, the Makgadikgadi, the Northern Tuli Game Reserve, and elsewhere. And - much to the credit of KRS staff – the male and female black rhinos have mated, and the sanctuary’s first baby black rhino was born in 2008!

Contact us for more information or to make a booking for a Botswana Safari