MOREMI GAME RESERVE
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The Moremi Wildlife Reserve falls within the tribal land of the Batswana and is named after the late Chief Moremi III. It was clear to his wife, who reigned after his death, that the game in their traditional hunting grounds was fast disappearing. With encouragement from conservationists, Mrs Moremi proclaimed the Moremi Wildlife Reserve in March 1963 and the tribe agreed to vacate the land.
Chief's Island is the largest landmass within Moremi and was the Batswana tribe's richest hunting grounds with a vast array of animals. The dry sandy interior of this 100,000 hectare (1,000 square kilometer) island is full of mopane woodland and acacia thornscrub interspersed with clay pans.
The pans fill with rain and attract large herds of buffalo who seem to prefer drinking from the pans rather than the river. They also like the sparse but sweet grasses found here, as opposed to the long but courser fodder of the floodplains. As the mopane bush gives way to floodplains and riverine forests, other animals become abundantly visible and the whole spectrum of Africa's game can be seen.
Today, the Moremi Wildlife Reserve rates as one of the leading wildlife areas of the world. The mosaic of grasslands, floodplains, palm-tree islets, forests, lily lagoons and winding water channels combine to form a perfectly constructed puzzle, in which animals wander as they please.
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