Khaudum National Park

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Khaudum National Park IUCN Category II - National Park
View from the Khaudum Campsite
location	Kavango East , Namibia
surface	4000 km²
WDPA ID	17999
Geographical location	18 ° 50 ′  S , 20 ° 50 ′  E Coordinates: 18 ° 50 ′ 0 ″  S , 20 ° 50 ′ 0 ″  E
Setup date	1989
administration	Ministry of Environment and Tourism

The Khaudum National Park ( English Khaudum National Park ), formerly Khaudum Wildlife Park (English Khaudum Game Park ), incorrectly also often Kaudom or Kaudum , is a national park in Namibia . It is located in the Kavango East region in the northeast of the country, south of the western end of the Caprivi Strip .

Khaudum is 4,000 square kilometers and one of the most pristine wildlife sanctuaries in Namibia. It is difficult to access and hardly developed for tourism. The landscape of the park offers extensive dry forests on mostly sandy soil with a flat relief and a large number of species of fauna with large game , predators, many antelope species and over 320 species of birds.

geography

The Khaudum National Park is located in the area of ​​the Kalahari Sand Lake, which is characterized by orange-red longitudinal dunes running in an east-west direction . These dunes are now stabilized by the vegetation and are therefore no longer relocated. The sand sea is crossed in many places by dry watercourses, so-called Omuramba . The three largest Omiramba, Nhoma , Cwiba and Khaudum (Rivier) run through the Khaudum Wildlife Park in a south-easterly direction. They play an important ecological role, as their peaty riverbed absorbs the precipitation during the rainy season and also maintains it through the dry season.

climate

The Kavango East region offers a long dry season from April to November and a subsequent wet season from December to March. In the dry season in winter, the humidity is 30%, the maximum daytime temperatures are 25 ° C during the day, but at night the temperature can drop below 5 ° C on cold days. The rainy season in summer is characterized by a humidity of 60% and daily highs between 30 and 40 ° C. Even at night, temperatures do not drop below 15 ° C. The annual precipitation in the region Khaudum are at 550 mm, with 80% from December to March fall.

Flora and fauna

flora

The relatively high rainfall allows extensive dry forests outside the Omiramba , even if a large part of the rainfall seeps into the Kalahari sands. The dominant vegetation in the park is species-rich, high and short dry forest and along the Omiramba acacia dry forest that runs through the park .

In the high dry forest, the trees reach a height of up to 10 m and there is relatively dense undergrowth. The range of species consists mainly of Mukwa ( Pterocarpus angolensis ), Rhodesian teak ( Baikiaea plurijuga ), Sandseringe ( Burkea africana ) and False Mopane ( Guibourtia coleosperma ). Various Bauhinien and Baphia massaiensis can be found in the understory .

In contrast to the high dry forest, the trees of the short dry forest only reach a height of about 5 m. There is hardly any undergrowth here because of the lack of shade. The defining species are the white trunk ( Boscia angustifolia ), apple leaf tree ( Lonchocarpus neisii ) and yellowwood ( Terminalia serica ). Anabaum ( Faidherbia albida ) and Grewia spp.

Along the Omiramba there are denser stands of acacia - dry forest with often very large individuals of camel thorn ( Acacia erioloba ), sandfield acacia ( Acacia fleckii ), candle acacia ( Acacia hebeclada ) and ring-shell acacia ( Vachellia tortilis ). Occasionally there are also genealogical tree species ( Combretum imberbe ) and ( Combretum hereroense ). The valley floors of the Omiramba are swampy and peaty and have a dense reed bed with many grasses and reeds ( phragmites ), in which Bauhinienarten , but also water lilies are interspersed.

Some calcareous elevations show a different vegetation, dominated by the blood fruit tree ( Terminalia prunoides ).

fauna

Due to the unspoilt nature of the nature reserve, there is a rich and varied fauna in the vast dry forests. The ideal time for game viewing is between June and October. Bird lovers will find over 320 species of birds from November to March, including several parrots and over 50 species of birds of prey.

Big game can be found in the park at times more than 6,400 elephant many, giraffe and many antelope species , including Roan Antelope , gemsbok , wildebeest , kudu , Steenbok , Topi ( tsessebe ), hartebeest , eland and reedbuck . The predator population is also high. In addition to smaller cats, there is a larger population of lions , but also leopards , spotted hyenas , jackals and occasionally cheetahs and even hyena dogs .

tourism

The Khaudum National Park is very remote and can only be reached via deep sandy slopes. Access is only possible with all-wheel drive vehicles and in convoy . The park is hardly developed for tourism and offers no supply options.

Both camps and the national park were closed in May 2013 and reopened at the end of June 2013. For the first time, the Xaudum Lodge opened permanent accommodation in the national park in 2018. A new campsite opened in 2016.

literature

• L. Riley, W. Riley: Natures Strongholds - The Worlds great Wildlife Reserves. Princeton University Press, 2004.
• S. Olivier, W. Olivier: Nature reserves in Namibia. Longman Namibia, 1994.
• K. Huser u. a .: Namibia - A country study in pictures. Klaus Hess, 2001.

Web links

• Official National Park brochure (PDF; English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Statement by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism on the Hunting of an Elephant Declared as a Problem causing Anima in the Omatjete Area, Erongo Region. Ministry of Environment and Tourism, July 2, 2019.
2. ↑ May 22, 2013 News in the evening. Hitradio Namibia, May 22, 2013  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 24, 2013.  
3. ↑ Travel-Namibia: Khaudum National Park ( Memento of the original from January 11, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed August 27, 2013. 
4. ↑ Xaudum Lodge. Namibia Exclusive. ( Memento of the original from September 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 23, 2015.