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Hwange National Park Facts

Hwange National Park Facts
Hwange National Park is a 5,656 square mile park located in Zimbabwe (Africa). The park borders Botswana and is found along the main road to Victoria Falls in Northwest Zimbabwe. In 1928 the park was first founded as a game reserve, and in 1961 it was designated a national park. There are a variety of camps in the park where visitors can stay, including bush camps, the main camp, and several other camps that provide accommodations. The large elephant population brings tourists from around the world, and the two main geographic regions of the park support the large number of species.
Interesting Hwange National Park Facts:
Hwange National Park is named after a local Nhanzwa chief.
In the early 1800s the region was designated royal hunting grounds for Mzilikazi - a Ndebele warrior king.
When white hunters arrived in the region they decimated the population of wildlife and this resulted in efforts to preserve the area by designating it as a game reserve.
Ted Davison was the first warden of the park when it was founded as a reserve in 1928.
When the reserve was established the population of wildlife was so low that it is estimated there were less than 1000 elephants remaining.
In order to support wildlife water had to be made available to wildlife. Boreholes were drilled and these provided pans of water where the animals could drink.
Hwange National Park is home to one of the world's largest elephant populations, and it is estimated to be as high as 30,000.
Hwange National Park is located about an hour drive from Victoria Falls, one of the world's seven wonders and largest waterfall in the world based on width and height combined.
Wildlife that can be seen in Hwange National Park includes elephants, giraffes, hippos, buffalos, zebras, wildebeests, white rhinos, black rhinos, lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, wild dogs, antelopes, and gemsbok.
There are more than 100 mammal species and more than 400 species of birds found in Hwange National Park.
At times it has been necessary to decrease the population of elephants by culling them, when their numbers grow too large. When there are too many they damage the trees and strain the resources, which can strain other animal populations as well.
Hwange National Park has all five of Africa's Big Five species which include the African elephant, African lion, Cape buffalo, African leopard, and the rhino.
There are several main areas of Hwange National Park including Sinamatella, Linkwasha, Dzivanini wilderness area, Shakwanki wilderness area, and Tsamhole wilderness area.
There are 480 kilometers of roads in Hwange National Park, some of which must be closed during rainy season. Night driving through the park is not allowed.
Efforts to stop poachers are important in the park. In 2011 there were many incidents of animals being poached. Nine elephants were killed.
In 2013 poachers poisoned an elephant watering hole with cyanide, killing more than 100.
Hwange National Park is governed by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and is being considered to be included in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area which will oversee several national parks.


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