Little known, the zebra migration in Botswana is nonetheless Africa’s second largest animal migration.
\nAt the heart of the Kalahari, more than 20,000 zebras gather there every year.<\/p>\n
Unlike the wildebeest migration between Tanzania and Kenya, whose location is fairly predictable within a few weeks, the zebra migration in the Kalahari is more irregular.<\/p>\n
To simplify, we can distinguish three variants:<\/p>\n
– the first, ancestral, sees zebras moving between the northern Chobe park (where they are generally present between June and November) and Nxai Pan and Baines Baobab parks (where they are normally present between December and February). All of this varies depending on rainfall.
\nThis movement is the hardest to predict, and the length of time zebras spend in Nxai Pan is too short to be certain of observing them there at the expected time. Moreover, this season is not the most favourable for discovering all of Botswana’s highlights in the best conditions.<\/p>\n
– the second, also ancestral, sees zebras moving between the eastern Okavango Delta and Makgadikgadi National Park. For centuries, animals made this journey every year. But the construction of a veterinary fence in the 1960s made this movement impossible, causing the death of many animals, particularly buffalo, and changing the habits of others. However, when the fence was partially removed in the late 1990s, some animals \u2014 perhaps instinctively \u2014 resumed their ancestral habits. This behaviour points to a kind of \u201cgenetic\u201d memory, given that none of them had been born before the veterinary fence was built…
\nRelatively few animals make this journey between Moremi and Makgadikgadi, so this is not the migration we favour.<\/p>\n
– finally, a third movement covers a shorter distance, between the Pans and Makgadikgadi National Park. Zebras are found in the south-western part of the Pans during the rainy season (between December and April), then gradually return towards the far west of the national park to stay around the Boteti River between June and the end of October, as the river gradually receives water from the Okavango Delta while the dry season is at its peak.<\/p>\n
To observe this migration in the best conditions, we suggest a stay at Leroo La Tau.<\/p>\n
On the banks of the Boteti River<\/strong><\/p>\n After a light aircraft flight from Maun, giving you the chance to fly over these typical Makgadikgadi landscapes, you’ll stay on the banks of the Boteti River, on the western edge of the national park. Leroo La Tau overlooks the river and the surrounding bush, where thousands of zebras come to drink and graze.
\nFrom the chalets built on stilts, with their large bay windows and terraces offering a 270\u00b0 panoramic view, this camp provides remarkable wildlife viewing, with height giving you a better vantage point.<\/p>\n