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Ecosystem

Okavango Delta

Wetland and Freshwater

The largest inland delta on Earth, formed where the Okavango River, rising in the Angolan highlands, spreads across the sands of the Kalahari Desert in northern Botswana and disappears entirely through evaporation and absorption rather than reaching the sea. Because the floodwaters take months to travel downstream from Angola, the delta flood peak arrives during the Botswana dry season, turning parched grassland into a seasonal wetland that draws immense concentrations of elephants, lions, hippopotamuses and African wild dogs. Inscribed as the one thousandth UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, the channels and floodplains of the delta shift from year to year, so no single map of the system stays accurate for long.

Facts
Disputed
Area (sq km)
15,000 1
The flooded extent of the delta varies seasonally from roughly 6,000 square kilometers in the dry season to as much as 15,000 to 22,000 square kilometers at peak flood; this figure reflects a commonly cited maximum extent.
Classification
Biogeographic Realm
Afrotropic 1
Protected Status
Managed or Multiple-Use Protection 1
Connections

Demonstrates

Water Cycle, Natural Phenomena
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica

Hosts

Aardwolf, Species
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
African Buffalo, Species
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
African Bush Elephant, Species
Source African Bush Elephant (Wikipedia)
African Elephant, Species
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
African marsh harrier, Species
Source African marsh harrier (Wikipedia)
African skimmer, Species
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
African Wild Dog, Species
Source African Wild Dog (Wikipedia)
Caracal, Species
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Common Warthog, Species
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Eurasian bittern, Species
Source Eurasian bittern (Wikipedia)
Giraffe, Species
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Greater Kudu, Species
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Hippopotamus, Species
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis), Species
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Impala, Species
Source Impala (Wikipedia)
Lechwe, Species
Source Lechwe (Wikipedia)
Marabou Stork, Species
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Nile Crocodile, Species
Source World Wildlife Fund
Puku, Species
Source Puku (Wikipedia)
Sable Antelope, Species
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Sitatunga, Species
Source Sitatunga (Wikipedia)
Tsessebe, Species
Source Damaliscus lunatus (Wikipedia)
Tsetse Fly, Species
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Vervet Monkey, Species
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text

In Biome

Freshwater, Biomes

An inland river delta in the Kalahari that never reaches the sea, ending instead in seasonal freshwater flood plains and permanent freshwater swamp.

Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
In the Other Atlases

Same As

Okavango Delta

Also in Geography Atlas: the same subject.

Found In

Botswana

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
  • britannica.com/place/Okavango-River, delta description paragraph
    This delta region, less than half of which is swamp year-round, covers an area of about 6,500 square miles (16,800 square km).
  • Biogeographic realm: afrotropic (derived from location stated in entity description)
  • Protected status (stated plainly in the entity own recorded description)
    Inscribed as the one thousandth UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, the channels and floodplains of the delta shift from year to year, so no single map of the system stays accurate for long.
  • Demonstrates: Water Cycle
  • Hosts: African Elephant
  • In Biome: Freshwater
View the Source
World Wildlife Fund
World Wildlife FundHosts: Nile CrocodileView the Source
Damaliscus lunatus (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Tsessebe, Common tsessebe
Quote, Hosts: Tsessebe, Common tsessebe
In northern Botswana, on the other hand, populations declined from 1996 to 2013, tsessebe populations in the Okavango Delta declined by 73%, with a 87% decline in the Moremi Game Reserve in particular.
View the Source
Sitatunga (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Sitatunga, Threats and conservation
Quote, Hosts: Sitatunga, Threats and conservation
Around 40 percent of the populations (based on the overestimate of 170,000) occurs in protected areas, mainly in Okavango Delta and Linyanti and Chobe swamps (Botswana); Dja Faunal Reserve and Lobéké National Park (Cameroon); Bangassou (Central African Republic); Odzala National Park, Lake Télé
View the Source
Lechwe (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Lechwe, Range
Quote, Hosts: Lechwe, Range
The lechwe is native to Botswana, Zambia, southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, northeastern Namibia, and eastern Angola, especially in the Okavango Delta, Kafue Flats, and Bangweulu Wetlands.
View the Source
Puku (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Puku, Lead
Quote, Hosts: Puku, Lead
The puku (Kobus vardonii) is a medium-sized antelope found in wet grasslands in southern Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and more concentrated in the Okavango Delta in Botswana.
View the Source
Impala (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: Impala, Threats and conservation
Quote, Hosts: Impala, Threats and conservation
Around a quarter of the common impala populations occur in protected areas, such as the Okavango Delta (Botswana); Masai Mara and Kajiado (Kenya); Kruger National Park (South Africa); the Ruaha and Serengeti National Parks and Selous Game Reserve (Tanzania); Luangwa Valley (Zambia); Hwange, Sebungwe and Zambezi Valley (Zimbabwe).
View the Source
African Wild Dog (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: African Wild Dog, Sneeze communication and 'voting'
Quote, Hosts: African Wild Dog, Sneeze communication and 'voting'
Populations in the Okavango Delta have been observed 'rallying' before setting out to hunt.
View the Source
African Bush Elephant (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: African Bush Elephant, Pathogens
Quote, Hosts: African Bush Elephant, Pathogens
From April to June 2020, over 400 bush elephants died in Botswana's Okavango Delta region after drinking from desiccating waterholes that were infested with cyanobacteria.
View the Source
Eurasian bittern (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Eurasian bittern, Distribution and habitat
Quote, Hosts: Eurasian bittern, Distribution and habitat
The subspecies B. s. capensis is endemic to southern Africa, where it is found sparingly in marshes near the east coast, the Okavango Delta and the upland foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains.
View the Source
African marsh harrier (Wikipedia)
Hosts: African marsh harrier, Conservation
Quote, Hosts: African marsh harrier, Conservation
Outside South Africa there are still large areas of suitable habitat, e.g. the Okavango Delta in Botswana and over much of Zambia, and the species is still locally common .
View the Source
Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)
  • Hosts: Sable Antelope, Article text
    species include the giraffe, blue wildebeest, plains zebra, hippopotamus, impala, common eland, greater kudu, sable antelope, roan antelope, puku, waterbuck, sitatunga, tsessebe, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger,
  • Hosts: Vervet Monkey, Article text
    wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger, common warthog, chacma baboon, vervet monkey and Nile
  • Hosts: Marabou Stork, Article text
    The delta also hosts over 400 bird species, including the helmeted guineafowl, African fish eagle, Pel's fishing owl, Egyptian goose, South African shelduck, African jacana, African skimmer, marabou stork, crested crane, African spoonbill, African darter, southern ground hornbill, wattled crane, lilac-breasted roller, secretary bird and common ostrich.
  • Hosts: Aardwolf, Article text
    kudu, sable antelope, roan antelope, puku, waterbuck, sitatunga, tsessebe, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger, common warthog, chacma baboon, vervet monkey and Nile
  • Hosts: Tsetse Fly, Article text
    Most Batawana, however, have traditionally lived on the edges of the delta, due to the threat that the tsetse fly poses to their cattle.
  • Hosts: Hippopotamus, Article text
    species include the giraffe, blue wildebeest, plains zebra, hippopotamus, impala, common eland, greater kudu, sable antelope, roan antelope, puku, waterbuck, sitatunga, tsessebe, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger,
  • Hosts: African Buffalo, Article text
    All of the big five game animals, the lion, leopard, African buffalo, African bush elephant, black and white rhinoceros are present.
  • Hosts: Common Warthog, Article text
    tsessebe, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger, common warthog, chacma baboon, vervet monkey and Nile
  • Hosts: African skimmer, Article text
    The delta also hosts over 400 bird species, including the helmeted guineafowl, African fish eagle, Pel's fishing owl, Egyptian goose, South African shelduck, African jacana, African skimmer, marabou stork, crested crane, African spoonbill, African darter, southern ground hornbill, wattled crane, lilac-breasted roller, secretary bird and common ostrich.
  • Hosts: Giraffe, Article text
    species include the giraffe, blue wildebeest, plains zebra, hippopotamus, impala, common eland, greater kudu, sable antelope, roan antelope, puku, waterbuck, sitatunga, tsessebe, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger,
  • Hosts: Greater Kudu, Article text
    species include the giraffe, blue wildebeest, plains zebra, hippopotamus, impala, common eland, greater kudu, sable antelope, roan antelope, puku, waterbuck, sitatunga, tsessebe, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger,
  • Hosts: Caracal, Article text
    impala, common eland, greater kudu, sable antelope, roan antelope, puku, waterbuck, sitatunga, tsessebe, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger, common warthog, chacma baboon, vervet monkey and Nile
  • Hosts: Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis), Article text
    waterbuck, sitatunga, tsessebe, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger, common warthog, chacma baboon, vervet monkey and Nile
View the Source

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