Chobe

Declared a National Park in 1967, Chobe was the first National Park in Botswana. It is home to one of the largest concentrations of elephant on the African continent.

Surrounded by wildlife management areas and reserves that allow game to roam freely, the 11 700 km² (4 500 square mile) reserve is located in the far north of Botswana, bordering on the Chobe River. Home to the entire Big Five, Chobe is particularly well known for its large herds of elephant and buffalo, as well as the two antelope that cannot be encountered anywhere else in Botswana, the puku and the Chobe bushbuck.

Chobe offers both dry savanna and permanent swamp, in addition to the vast floodplains along the river. Dense teak woodland provides thick cover in the northeast parts of the reserve.The burgeoning elephant population has been responsible for removing the riverine forest that formerly fringed the Chobe, opening up this habitat for other herbivores and the carnivores that prey on them. Watching the elephant families drink and bathe in the river is an unforgettable sight, all the more impressive when herds of buffalo, rafts of hippo and gigantic Nile crocodiles are part of the scene. Lion and spotted hyena are frequently seen on the floodplains, where red lechwe, puku, zebra, sable and roan come out to graze.