The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is a national park in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. It was established in 1961 and is the second largest game reserve in the world, covering 52 800 square kilometers. The Bushmen have inhabited the area for thousands of years, having roamed the land as nomadic hunters. Today, the national hunting ban prevents Bushmen from practicing their traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle, despite the fact that private game farms have allowed hunting by tourists. The area is mostly flat, gently undulating, with sand dunes covered in scrub and grasses, and some areas with larger trees. Many of these river valleys have been fossilized by salt pans. Through the reserve meander four fossilized rivers, including Deception Valley, which began to form about 16 000 years ago. The park is home to wild animals such as giraffe, elephant, White Rhino, Cape Buffalo, Spotted Hyena, Brown Hyena, Honey Badger, Meerkat, Yellow Mongoose, Warthog, Cheetah, Caracal, Cape Wild Dog, Black-Backed Jackal, Bat-Eared Fox, Cape Fox, leopard, lion, Wildebeest, zebra, eland, Sable Antelope, South African Oryx, Springbok, Steenbok, Impala, Greater Kudu, Aardvark, South African Ground Squirrel, Cape Hare, Cape Porcupine, Cape Baboon, Cape Hartebeest and ostrich.
Springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) at Tau Pan in Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana (2011)
Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris) in Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana (2011)
Gemsbok (Oryx gazella) at Tau Pan Camp in Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana (2011)
Cape Ground Squirrel (Xerus inauris) at Tau Pan Camp in Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana (2011)
White-quilled Bustard (Afrotis afraoides) at Tau Pan Camp in Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana (2011)
Southern Ostrich (Struthio camelus australis) at Tau Pan Camp in Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana (2011)
Black-cheeked Waxbill (Estrilda erythronotos) at Tau Pan Camp in Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana (2011)
Kori Bustard (Ardeotis kori) at Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana (2011)
Kori Bustard (Ardeotis kori) at Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana (2011)
Northern Black Korhaan (Afrotis afraoides) at Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana (2011)
Northern Black Korhaan (Afrotis afraoides) at Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana (2011)
African Lion (Panthera leo) at Tau Pan in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana (2011)
Northern Black Korhaan (Afrotis afraoides) at Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana (2011)