Hwange National Park
General Information
Hwange National Park is the largest game reserve in
Zimbabwe. At 14 650 km², it supports an abundance
of game, but this has not always been the case. The
park is named after the African chief Hwange, who lost
his lands to the invading Ndebele tribe. The land became
a royal hunting ground, which lead to the loss of many
game.
This accelerated with the arrival of the white man
the 19th century, who claimed the land and hunted at
will. The national park was created almost by accident.
Increasing population numbers meant the country’s
animals were pushed further and further into the inhospitable
western region on the Botswana border where Hwange lies,
and so the national park was created. It's been around
for 70 years now and today can claim to have the densest
concentration of wildlife in Africa as well as containing
the famous "Big Five".
Hwange National Park has the second highest number of mammals
of any national park in the world - a record 108 species!
There are also over 400 recorded species of birds.
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