Kafue National Park is the largest national park in Zambia. It covers an area of about 22,400 square kilometers, which is similar in size to Wales or Massachusetts. The park is the second largest in Africa and is home to 152 species of mammals. It also has 515 bird species, 70 reptile species, 58 fish species, and 36 amphibious species.

The park is named after the Kafue River. It spans three provinces: North Western, Central, and Southern. The main road to the park is the Lusaka–Mongu Road, which connects Lusaka to Mongu and crosses the park north of its center. Other seasonal dirt roads link the park to Kalomo and Namwala in the south and southeast, and to Kasempa in the north.

History

The Kafue Game Reserve was created in the early 1920s to reduce the loss of wildlife. Kafue National Park was established in the 1950s by Norman Carr, an important British-Rhodesian conservationist. The park was created after the British colonial government moved the traditional owners of the area, the Nkoya people of Mwene Kabulwebulwe, from their hunting grounds to the Mumbwa District to the east in 1924.

In 2021, Nkoya leaders asked to create a new province in the area, which they want to name Kafue Province. They are asking for this because they are unhappy with how slowly development is happening in Central Province and because they are not getting enough benefits from tourism in the park.

In February 2021, a plan was started by Zambia's Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and African Parks to get help with technical and financial needs for the park over 15 months. After this plan worked well, the Zambian government invited African Parks to sign a 20-year agreement to manage Kafue.

Geology and climate

The land is mostly flat or has gentle hills, except for some small, steep granite hills between Chonga and Ngoma and other hills made of sandstone and granite near Ngoma, which reach up to 120 meters (390 feet). In the southwestern part of the Hook granite area, the central part of the park contains rock types such as schist, gneiss, granite-gneiss, and granite. Along the edges of the granite area, there are slates, quartzites, and limestones from the Katanga sediments of the Lufilian Arc. North and south of the granite area, the soil covers Karroo sediments, which include shales, siltstones, concreted gravels, and various types of laterite.

In the northern part of the park, floodplains have clay soils. Elsewhere, the soils are sandy to loamy, strongly leached, and have low fertility. In most areas drained by the Nanzila River and some areas near the Nkala, Musa, and Lwansanza rivers, dark grey alkaline clays are found. The rest of the park is covered with well-drained, infertile pale or orange Kalahari sands mixed with some silt and clay.

The main rivers that flow into the Kafue River in this park are the Lufupa and Lunga rivers in the north, the Luansanza River in the center, and the Musa River in the south.

Average yearly rainfall ranges from 510 mm (20 inches) in the south to more than 1,020 mm (40 inches) in the north. The dry season occurs from June to October. The average yearly temperature is 21°C (70°F), with average high temperatures ranging from 26°C (79°F) in July to 33°C (91°F) in October, the hottest month. Winds are usually light and blow from the east.

Habitats and flora

Most of the park is covered with miombo woodlands, which are open forests with trees from the Brachystegia, Julbernardia, and Isoberlinia groups. These trees are adapted to survive fires that happen sometimes. Small wet areas called dambos are scattered throughout the woodlands. In the south and center of the park, there are evergreen forests with teak and mopane trees.

Large termite mounds in the forests support certain evergreen plants, such as the candelabra tree (Euphorbia ingens) and the jackalberry (Diospyros mespiliformis). These mounds can be very large and are sometimes hundreds or even thousands of years old. The park also has large and small open grassy areas, often with small termite mounds.

The Kafue River flows into the Itezhi-Tezhi Dam, which is man-made and creates a reservoir that partly lies within the park. A type of grass called Vossia cuspidata grows in floating mats in the river. Aeschynomene elaphroxylon is a plant that causes problems near Lake Itezhi-Tezhi. Mimosa pigra, an invasive shrub, is harming areas where wattled cranes live.

The Busanga Plains in the far northwest are grasslands that flood seasonally along the Lufupa River.

Fauna

Kafue National Park is home to 21 different types of antelope. These include puku, sitatunga, red lechwe, blue duiker, yellow-backed duiker, Sharpe's grysbok, oribi, impala, roan antelope, sable antelope, and hartebeest.

The park has about 4,800 African bush elephants, and large groups of them are often seen. Other mammals found in the park include African buffalo, aardvark, pangolin, bushpig, warthog, spring hare, and bush baby.

Since 2005, Kafue National Park has been part of a lion conservation unit with South Luangwa National Park. There are more than 200 lions in the park. It also has the largest cheetah population in Zambia and a healthy number of African leopards. The park is an important area for African wild dogs. Other carnivores in the park include Selous's mongoose, white-tailed mongoose, marsh mongoose, African civet, honey badger, African clawless otter, spotted-necked otter, serval, caracal, and African wild cat.

The Kafue River and its smaller rivers are home to groups of hippopotamus and some of the largest Nile crocodiles in southern Africa. Monitor lizards also live in the park.

Kafue National Park is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International. Over 500 bird species have been recorded there. Chaplin's barbet, which is found only in Zambia, is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. Other birds include Pel's fishing owl, black-cheeked lovebird, African finfoot, Böhm's bee-eaters, paradise flycatchers, sunbirds, and many types of kingfishers.

The Busanga swamps are a habitat for many waterbirds. They are one of the few places where wattled cranes breed. The endangered Grey crowned crane also lives in the park. The area is also home to flocks of pelicans, many species of egrets, and large groups of African openbill storks. Colonies of African skimmers are found on sandbars in the main rivers.

Small termite mounds in the grasslands attract sooty chats, and wetter areas of the plains are preferred by rosy-throated longclaws. When winged termites fly before the rains, pallid harriers, Montagu's harriers, lesser kestrels, and European hobby birds feed on them. Woodlands are home to African hawk-eagles, black-chested snake-eagles, racket-tailed rollers, flocks of helmetshrikes, and sooty and Arnot's chats.

Important fish species in the area include Sarotherodon macrochir, Tilapia andersonii, Coptodon rendalli, T. sparrmanii, Clarias gariepinus, Marcusenius macrolepidotus, Labeo molybdinus, and Hepsetus odoe. In 1992, kapenta (Limnothrissa miodon) from Lake Tanganyika were introduced into Lake Itezhi-tezhi.

Infrastructure

Ngoma, located in the southern part of the park, serves as the headquarters. However, this area, along with the Nanzhila Plains, is not visited as often because the Itezhi-Tezhi Dam was constructed and more lodges were built in the northern region. The reservoir created by the dam blocked the north-south road through the park. This meant that travelers had to take a different route outside the park to move between Ngoma and Chunga. The construction of the spine road has reconnected the northern and southern parts of the park.

Conservation

Kafue National Park has extra protection because it is surrounded by nine Game Management Areas. However, poaching and the need for bushmeat have caused fewer animals in the park. In 2018, six nonprofit groups worked together to stop the loss of animals and protect habitats. African Parks joined the effort in 2021, partnering with the Zambia Wildlife Authority. A plan created with African Parks and the government helped make over 200 jobs, improved protection, and added new infrastructure. Some improvements included building a new law enforcement center, repairing structures at Chunga and Ngoma, and improving roads. In 2021, money for law enforcement was twice as much as the average from 2018 to 2020.

Ngoma

Ngoma is the only settlement in the southern part of Kafue National Park in Zambia. It is located just south of Itezhi-Tezhi Dam. Ngoma is where the head warden for the southern half of the park lives, along with about 200 game wardens and their families who work for the Zambia Wildlife Authority. There is a small information center that provides details about local wildlife, and the village includes Ngoma Basic School.

Nearby, many other animal species live, including puku, reedbuck, waterbuck, sable and roan antelope, eland, hartebeest, wildebeest, kudu, zebra, warthog, lion, serval, wild cat, hyena, jackal, and, at night, springhare and porcupine. Birdlife in the village is