Type: National Park
Governing Body: Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA)
Area: 22400 km2
Coordinates: 15°46′S 25°55′E
Country: Zambia
Province: Central, North Western, Southern
Activities: Bird watching tour, Boat Cruise, Canoeing, Game Drives, Fishing, Safari Tour, Guided Tour
General Information
Kafue National Park is the largest and oldest national park in Zambia. It gets it's name from the Kafue river and floodplains that flow through the park. The park has such a large surface area that it spans three provinces and a good percentage of it remains largely unexplored with vast tracts of its virgin bush are still untouched.
The Park was founded in the 1950s and is currently managed by the Zambia Wildlife Association (ZAWA).
The Traditional land owners of the area are the Nkoya people.
The Park was founded in the 1950s and is currently managed by the Zambia Wildlife Association (ZAWA).
The Traditional land owners of the area are the Nkoya people.
Infrastructure & Accesibility
The Park has a settlement in the south known as Ngoma where over 200 Zawa officers and their families stay including schools and an Information Centre on the wildlife that can be found in the park. Roads also connect the North to the southern side of the park including the Itezhi-Tezhi Hydro electric dam.
The Park can be reached by road from multiple directions and via Air on several air strips such as in Ngoma, Chunga, and Lufupa.
The Park can be reached by road from multiple directions and via Air on several air strips such as in Ngoma, Chunga, and Lufupa.
Accommodation
Accommodation Types: Lodge(s), Camping, Guest House(s), Backpacker(s)
Climate, Flora & Habitat
The dominant vegetation type of the Kafue is called ‘Miombo’ which is typified by a semi-deciduous woodland comprising a number of three dominant genera of tree (Brachystegia, Julbernadia and Isoberlina), interspersed with seasonally flooded areas, often adjoining the main rivers and tributaries, locally called ‘Dambos’. These Dambos are a huge feature of the Kafue with most holding water well into the dryer months, creating lush fodder and a hive of activity for the grazers.
The main tributaries to the Kafue river in this park are the Lufupa and Lunga rivers in the north, the Luansanza (or Lwansanza) in the center and the Musa in the south.
Mean annual rainfall varies from 510 millimetres in the south to more than 1,020 millimetres in the north. The annual mean temperature is 21 °C, with a mean maximum from 26 °C in July to 33 °C in October, the hottest month of the year. Winds are mostly light, blowing from the east.
The main tributaries to the Kafue river in this park are the Lufupa and Lunga rivers in the north, the Luansanza (or Lwansanza) in the center and the Musa in the south.
Mean annual rainfall varies from 510 millimetres in the south to more than 1,020 millimetres in the north. The annual mean temperature is 21 °C, with a mean maximum from 26 °C in July to 33 °C in October, the hottest month of the year. Winds are mostly light, blowing from the east.
Wildlife
The Kafue National Park is one of the largest parks in Africa and is home to over 152 different species of mammals. It is known greatly for its wide variety of wildlife including a large range of antelopes including puku, sitatunga, red lechwe, blue duiker, yellow-backed duiker, Sharpe's grysbok, oribi, impala, roan antelope, sable antelope and hartebeest. African bush elephant herds are commonly seen. Other mammals include African buffalo, aardvark, pangolin, bushpig, warthog, spring hare and bush baby.
A rarity for Zambia is the cheetah. Cheetah can not be found in the Luangwa or Zambezi national parks and only occur in the west of Zambia, with Liuwa Plains and the Kafue holding the last viable populations of this rare and charismatic predator.
The park is regarded by those who know it as one of the best places in Africa to find leopard. In certain areas and at certain times of year these secretive and elusive predators are frequently seen, especially on night-drives which are allowed in the Kafue national park and even from afternoon boat cruises along the Kafue river in the hotter months when leopard come down to drink.
A rarity for Zambia is the cheetah. Cheetah can not be found in the Luangwa or Zambezi national parks and only occur in the west of Zambia, with Liuwa Plains and the Kafue holding the last viable populations of this rare and charismatic predator.
The park is regarded by those who know it as one of the best places in Africa to find leopard. In certain areas and at certain times of year these secretive and elusive predators are frequently seen, especially on night-drives which are allowed in the Kafue national park and even from afternoon boat cruises along the Kafue river in the hotter months when leopard come down to drink.
Reptiles & Amphibians
The park hosts large numbers of monitor lizards and Nile crocodiles including smaller reptiles and amphibians with many endemic to the area.
Birds
The Kafue national park is a birders paradise with over 500 recorded bird species too numerous to mention including Zambia's endemic species, the Chaplin’s Barbet.
Fish
Commercially important fish species in the area are Sarotherodon macrochir, Tilapia andersonii, T. rendalli, T. sparrmanii, Clarias gariepinus, Marcusenius macrolepidotus, Labeo molybdinus and Hepsetus odoe. In 1992 kapenta (Limnothrissa miodon) from Lake Tanganyika was introduced into Lake Itezhi-tezhi.
Featured Listings
No results found.
Related Posts
Spotted Necked Otter
Aardvark
Common Slender Mongoose
Common Duiker
African Pygmy Hedgehog
Southern Steinbuck
