For such an arid area – average rainfall measures around 200mm per annum – the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is home to an astonishing variety of wildlife. Apart from a wide variety of desert-adapted plants and invertebrates, the Park’s lists boast 62 kinds of mammals, 274 species of bird (of which 78 are resident throughout the year), 48 sorts of reptiles (including 17 snake species) and seven kinds of frogs.
There’s three kinds of plants that really are characteristic of the Kalahari. The first is the Camel Thorns – huge trees growing in the beds of the Auob and Nossob River and about which we’ll be sharing more soon. Then, there’s the Gemsbok Cucumbers and Tsamma Melons; the fruits of which are made up of around 90%+ of water and both an invaluable source of moisture to all kinds of wildlife (including some carnivores).
At the one end of the scale there’s a multitude of invertebrates and small reptiles and mammals taking up their respective positions in the food pyramid. The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park allows a glimpse into their natural cycles and behaviours uniquely adapted to their arid environs.
The Kalahari might best be known for the grand variety of raptors that soar its airways, but birdwatchers will not be disappointed by the variety of other, less fearsome but equally fascinating, feathered fauna that find a home here.
The Rest Camps of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park are excellent places to look for owls, by day or night!
Predators, both large and small, abound in the Kalahari. Africa’s three species of big cat are often seen (though the leopard eluded us when we visited in June 2018), and is one of the main reasons people undertake the long journey to visit here.
The Gemsbok is so iconic of the Kalahari that both parks that today make up the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (Botswana’s Gemsbok National Park and South Africa’s Kalahari Gemsbok National Park) was named after it. These beautiful animals are of the most commonly encountered large mammals in the Park.
And while there may not be as great diversity among the large herbivores in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park as in some of Africa’s other great conservation areas, the antelope, giraffe and warthogs occur in such numbers that it belies the harshness of their environment.
We’ll dedicate the next few posts on our blog to discover some of the Kalahari’s residents in more detail.
Wow so majestic! Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed our Kgalagadi wildlife post, and welcome here!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! 😍
LikeLiked by 1 person
Vrek, dis mooi!
I’m a very strange purple colour… it’s called jealousy!
Eendag! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a month since we returned from the Kalahari and my heart is already aching to go back – I can just imagine what it must feel like for you, AJ.
LikeLike
An evocative collection of lovely pics and so nice that you include some of the tinier forms of life too. Your posts are inspiring us to consider planning another trip despite the long journey to get there. So, thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Carol – inspiring people to appreciate and visit our wild places really is what our blog is all about! And eventhough it’s such a long trip to get there, I found driving through places and scenery we don’t often get to see very enjoyable – of course for you it is several hours more to drive than for us to reach Twee Rivieren.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sjoe dit vat tyd om al die fotos so te benoem. Dankie daarvoor. Ek heerlik op n uitstappie saam met julle gegaan.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ek geniet dit vreeslik om die posts voor te berei, Ineke – dit help my die tyd verwyl tot ons weer bos toe kan gaan!
LikeLike
Goed om te hoor. Jy is beslis lekker kreatief.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dit is baie gaaf van jou, dankie Ineke
LikeLiked by 1 person
A wonderful smorgasbord of flora and fauna. Thanks for sharing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’re only too happy to share our country’s wildlife treasures!
LikeLike
Amazing array of animals, can’t wait for you to delve into more info on them! The red eyed owl is quite an interesting photo and the wild cat is beautiful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It really boggles my mind that there can be so much life in a desert – the Kalahari just doesn’t fit the stereotypical definition…
LikeLiked by 1 person
no kidding! It probably more than we do in the rainforest!
LikeLiked by 1 person
They’re certainly easier to see than in a rainforest!
LikeLiked by 1 person
lol!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful pictures!
LikeLike
Thank you, Pradnya!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Tsamma melons must not be sweet, right?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Appatently the Tsamas are quite sweet, Hien, but not very nutricious – their value lies in the water they hold. The Gemsbok Cucumber on the other hand is terribly bitter.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful photos, Dries. Such a diversity of plants and animals. Sorry, but I have dumb question. Is it winter time there? I’m assuming it is because the light is so soft. What happens to the big herbivores and predators in Summer? Is there a permanent water source? Regards. Tracy.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks very much, Tracy, and you are spot-on about it being mid-winter here in South Africa now.
There are dozens of windpumps and boreholes spread through the Park providing water to the animals and birds, but most of the animals in the Kgalagadi are actually perfectly adapted to living without regular access to water – after all they flourished here long before humans arrived and sunk the boreholes. In fact, most of the animals only visit the waterholes to access the salts crystalizing at the water’s edge!
Summer is our main rainy season, also in the Kalahari, and then the landscape quickly transforms into a lush green, with rainwater filling puddles and pans in the riverbeds and dunes – then the living is easy for the Kalahari’s animals and most of the herbivores have their young. And of course where there’s so much prey animals the predators will never be far behind.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you for the information, Dries. That is fascinating.
LikeLiked by 2 people
What a pleasure to engage with interested people about the places we love!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Julle was gelukkig om ‘n pofadder in die winter te sien. Weereens ‘n heerlike reis saam met jou en pragtige foto’s van omtrent alles! Mooiste mooi, Dries!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ek sou so graag saam julle “regulars” wou gaan dat jy al jul geheime en spesiale plekke met ons kan deel, Dina. Dis darem so n spesiale plek.
Wyl ons daar was was daar n enorme verskil tussen die dag en nag temperature (soos net die woestyn kan opdis) – snags bibberend koud en bedags warm genoeg dat die slange, soos die pofadder, aan die rondseil was. Ons het met tye regtig uitgesweet want ons het net gepak vir die winter. En dan weer het ons met n vorige besoek in n Desember-vakansie ook behoorlik verkluim een nag met n sterk suide wind daar by Nossob. Sal ons leer om maar ietsie van als in te pak volgende keer.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mens weet nooit wat die weer gaan doen nie. Ons het al in die winter ook bedags amper verkluim. Die geheime plekke is maar net die boskampies en dan is dit maar geluk by die watergate. Ons hou die patrone van die diere dop en sorg dan dat ons met regte lig ons reg parkeer, voordat die ander mense opdaag.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Regte tyd op die regte plek bly maar die beste resep!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dries, what a diversity of animals. The gemsbok’s patterns are outstanding.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aren’t the Gemsbok just the most perfectly created animals, Tim!? So regal!?
LikeLike
Yes, I agree. The deer here in America are so plain. Elk are at least more interesting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
As always, your photos are excellent. I’m just kind of curious how long it takes to put a post like this together?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks very much, P J B.
I worked on this and the previous post at the same time, preparing the photos and deciding in which gallery they should go, the research and the writing. All in all it took me about 4 days or so in between work and other commitments to finish them – I can’t believe that in 2 days from now it is already a month since we left home for Augrabies and the Kgalagadi!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wow, I had been thinking you had spent quite a bit of time prepping this post. That makes complete sense that you would work on related posts at the same time. Thanks for being willing to share your work flow 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
We love sharing these beautiful places with you all, P J B!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’ve just about covered everything. Unless one has been there, one wouldn’t be able to appreciate the space … the silence … the arid beauty … and the sense of wonder that all these creatures you have shown here survive in that environment. This is a wonderful look at an amazing place!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the high praise and kind comment, Anne. Though your mentioning of the wide open spaces and the silence and all the Kalahari’s other special attributes has me very irritated with my little office now… 😀
LikeLike
Amazing pictures with a good mix of many birds!😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, John! The Kgalagadi really is one of the richest treasure chests of wildlife jewels we have in South Africa.
LikeLike
That’s a magnificent array of wildlife in one area! Amazing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
And to think all this life exists and flourishes in what is considered a desert!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You outdid yourself with all these photos. Do all jackals have ears that long or just this type? I especially enjoyed the owls.
janet
LikeLike
Thanks, Janet!
Those ears are pretty standard for the jackals 😉
We seldom get to places where owls are as plentiful and easy to see as in the Kgalagadi
LikeLiked by 1 person
I so love the birds!
LikeLike
Hard to believe that the Kalahari is a desert with so much life!
LikeLiked by 1 person