Central Kalahari Game Reserve Research Articles

Patterns of spatial dynamics and distribution of african elephants (Loxodonta africana) in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana

The African elephant (Loxodonta africana), once thought to be absent from the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa, has recently reestablished or expanded its range into the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), Botswana, with documented occurrences over the past decade. This study explores the temporal and spatial dynamics of elephants in and around the CKGR, focusing on their largely understudied movement patterns. Movement and home range data was obtained from two adult female and eight adult male elephants using GPS/UHF collars. The analysis revealed distinct seasonal ranging behaviours. Collared females migrated between CKGR and the Okavango Delta periphery, while collared male showed both migratory and sedentary patterns around artificial water points and Gope mine in CKGR. Some collared male elephants migrated to the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) during the wet season, returning to the CKGR in the dry season. This pattern confirms established migration routes and the emergence of pseudo-resident male elephants within CKGR. These findings highlight the importance of management strategies that integrate water distribution, elephant movement, and human-elephant conflicts. Ensuring ecological connectivity beyond the KAZA region is vital for the long-term survival of elephants and other key species.

Population genomics of the southern giraffe

Studying wildlife taxonomic diversity and identifying distinct populations has traditionally been largely based on morphology and geographic origin. More recently, this method has been supplemented by genetic data from the mitochondrial genome. However, this is limited as only maternally inherited and may not reflect the true nature of a population’s genetics. Within the giraffe (Giraffa spp.), subspecies and unique populations were successfully characterized using both mitochondrial and genomic DNA studies, which led to new insights and, in some cases, unexpected results that required further verification. Here, we sequenced the genomes of 85 southern giraffe (G. giraffa) individuals from ten populations across southern Africa for a detailed investigation into the genetic diversity and history of its two subspecies, the Angolan (G. g. angolensis) and the South African (G. g. giraffa) giraffe. While the overall genotypes show low levels of runs of homozygosity compared to other mammals, the degree of heterozygosity is limited despite the large population size of South African giraffe. The nuclear genotype is largely congruent with the mitochondrial genotype. However, we have identified that the distribution of the Angolan giraffe is not as far east as indicated in an earlier mitochondrial DNA study. Botswana’s Central Kalahari Game Reserve giraffe are unique, with a clear admixture of Angolan and South African giraffe populations. However, the enigmatic desert-dwelling giraffe of northwest Namibia is locally distinct from other Angolan giraffe yet exhibits intra-subspecies signs of admixture resulting from a recent introduction of individuals from Namibia’s Etosha National Park. Whole genome sequencing is an invaluable and nearly indispensable tool for wildlife management to uncover genetic diversity that is undetectable through mitogenomic, geographical, and morphological means.

State Strategy, Diamond Mining, and Indigenous Dispossession in Botswana

In a world-system built through dispossession and exploitation of African and Indigenous peoples, the case of the San in Botswana is significant. The government of Botswana recently led a protracted campaign of dispossession of the Indigenous San, likely due to there being diamond reserves near and within the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. This article argues that synthesizing critical theories of accumulation, dispossession, and State strategy can help us understand how and when dispossession of the Indigenous San led to commodification and/or proletarianization, while also helping to understand what became of the dispossessed. It expands theorizing on the sociology, geography, and political economy of (under)development, Indigenous rights and sovereignty, and State-Capital relations in Africa. The structural pressures for States in the periphery to cultivate extractive economies while seeking integration within the circuits of global capitalism remain present, decades after achieving colonial independence. This highlights the tensions, limitations, and illusions of successful ‘development’ in the stratified world-economy. Finally, the findings in this article critically challenge the story of Botswana being the ‘miracle’ of post-colonial Africa.

Orb-web spider Argiope (Araneidae) as indigenous arrow poison of G/ui and G//ana San hunters in the Kalahari.

Hunting has been crucial in early human evolution. Some San (Bushmen) of southern Africa still practice their indigenous hunting. The use of poisons is one remarkable aspect of their bow-and-arrow hunting but the sources, taxonomic identifications of species used, and recipes, are not well documented. This study reports on fieldwork to investigate recent indigenous hunting practices of G/ui and G//ana San communities in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), Botswana. Here we discuss their use of spider poison. The hunters use the contents of the opisthosoma ('abdomen') of a spider as sole ingredient of the arrow poison and discard the prosoma that contains the venom-glands. Using taxonomic keys, we identified the spider as the garden orb-web spider Argiope australis (Walckenaer 1805) (Araneidae). The hunters' choice of this species is remarkable given the scientific perception that A. australis is of little medical importance. The species choice raises questions about how the spider fluids could kill game, particularly when the prosoma, which contains the venom glands, is not used. Possibilities include trauma, as a source of pathogens, or abdomen-containing toxins. Based on characteristics of Argiope Audouin 1826, we hypothesize that the choice of this species for arrow poisons might have evolved from the recognition of aposematic signalling or spiritual symbolism. Indigenous knowledge (IK) is an important source for advances in biotechnology but is in decline worldwide. The study contributes to the documentation of the San people, and their ancient IK, which is threatened by marginalization, political pressures, and climate change.

Surveillance Studies Reveal Diverse and Potentially Pathogenic-Incriminated Vector Mosquito Species across Major Botswana Touristic Hotspots.

Simple SummaryMosquitoes vector pathogens that cause burdening diseases in humans, livestock and wildlife worldwide. Spatially and temporally, mosquito diversity varies considerably in response to bio-physical environments. As such, there is a need for mosquito diversity and distribution studies, as well as monitoring programmes, to inform on the risk of associated diseases. This survey assessed mosquito species in three major touristic areas of Botswana that are likely to harbour pathogens across prevailing hosts. The results revealed that all regions surveyed had important mosquito groups (Anopheles, Aedes and Culex) that are threats to public, wildlife and livestock health globally, including the arid Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The findings represent useful species inventories for future surveys and monitoring programmes.Vector mosquitoes contribute significantly to the global burden of diseases in humans, livestock and wildlife. As such, the spatial distribution and abundance of mosquito species and their surveillance cannot be ignored. Here, we surveyed mosquito species across major tourism hotspots in semi-arid Botswana, including, for the first time, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Our results reported several mosquito species across seven genera, belonging to Aedes, Anopheles, Culex, Mansonia, Mimomyia, Coquillettidia and Uranotaenia. These results document a significant species inventory that may inform early warning vector-borne disease control systems and likely help manage the risk of emerging and re-emerging mosquito-borne infections.

The impact and recovery of asteroid 2018 LA.

The June 2, 2018, impact of asteroid 2018 LA over Botswana is only the second asteroid detected in space prior to impacting over land. Here, we report on the successful recovery of meteorites. Additional astrometric data refine the approach orbit and define the spin period and shape of the asteroid. Video observations of the fireball constrain the asteroid's position in its orbit and were used to triangulate the location of the fireball's main flare over the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. 23 meteorites were recovered. A consortium study of eight of these classifies Motopi Pan as a HED polymict breccia derived from howardite, cumulate and basaltic eucrite, and diogenite lithologies. Before impact, 2018 LA was a solid rock of ~156 cm diameter with high bulk density ~2.85 g/cm3, a relatively low albedo pv ~ 0.25, no significant opposition effect on the asteroid brightness, and an impact kinetic energy of ~0.2 kt. The orbit of 2018 LA is consistent with an origin at Vesta (or its Vestoids) and delivery into an Earth-impacting orbit via the v6 resonance. The impact that ejected 2018 LA in an orbit towards Earth occurred 22.8 ± 3.8 Ma ago. Zircons record a concordant U-Pb age of 4563 ± 11 Ma and a consistent 207Pb/206Pb age of 4563 ± 6 Ma. A much younger Pb-Pb phosphate resetting age of 4234 ± 41 Ma was found. From this impact chronology, we discuss what is the possible source crater of Motopi Pan and the age of Vesta's Veneneia impact basin.

Recognition of the Indigeneity of the Basarwa in Botswana: Panacea against their Marginalisation and Realisation of Land Rights?

The Basarwa are the most marginalised tribe in Botswana. Their loss of access to land and subjugation is traceable to the arrival of the Bantu in Southern Africa. In an effort to address this historical injustice, the colonial government conceived the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) as a ‘Bushmen’ land reserve. Notwithstanding this, the Basarwa have lost access to their historical lands and natural resources to tourism and mining. Consequently, the Basarwa took the government to court which resulted in the judicial pronouncement that that they are lawful occupiers of the reserve and cannot be relocated against their will. The court ruled that the Basarwa are indigenous peoples within the scope of international law. This article investigates the rights indigenous peoples have in the context of protecting the Basarwa. It argues that the Constitution of Botswana confers special rights to the Basarwa equivalent to those of indigenous peoples at international law. It further argues that the Basarwa have rights to access and utilisation of natural resources in the CKGR. This article recommends that the government should desist from approaching the Basarwa in a paternalist manner and respect their right to self-determination. It concludes that the recognition of the indigeneity of the Basarwa is critical in resolving their land issues.

Genetic Affinities among Southern Africa Hunter-Gatherers and the Impact of Admixing Farmer and Herder Populations.

Southern African indigenous groups, traditionally hunter-gatherers (San) and herders (Khoekhoe), are commonly referred to as “Khoe-San” populations and have a long history in southern Africa. Their ancestors were largely isolated up until ∼2,000 years ago before the arrival of pastoralists and farmers in southern Africa. Assessing relationships among regional Khoe-San groups has been challenging due to admixture with immigrant populations that obscure past population affinities and gene flow among these autochthonous communities. We re-evaluate a combined genome-wide data set of previously published southern Africa Khoe-San populations in conjunction with novel data from Khoe-San individuals collected in Xade (Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana) prior to their resettlement outside the reserve. After excluding regions in the genome that trace their ancestry to recent migrant groups, the genetic diversity of 20 Khoe-San groups fitted an isolation-by-distance model. Even though isolation-by-distance explained most genetic affinities between the different autochthonous groups, additional signals of contact between Khoe-San groups could be detected. For instance, we found stronger genetic affinities, than what would be explained by isolation-by-distance gene flow, between the two geographically separated Khoe-San groups, who speak branches of the Kx’a-language family (ǂHoan and Ju). We also scanned the genome-wide data for signals of adaptive gene flow from farmers/herders into Khoe-San groups and identified a number of genomic regions potentially introduced by the arrival of the new groups. This study provides a comprehensive picture of affinities among Khoe-San groups, prior to the arrival of recent migrants, and found that these affinities are primarily determined by the geographic landscape.

Adaptive Foraging of Sympatric Ungulates in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana

Productivity of herbivores depends on their success in attaining protein and fat stores above survival and reproductive thresholds. Populations in semi-arid regions depend on mobility to access resources that are spatiotemporally heterogeneous. The potentially isolated wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), gemsbok (Oryx gazella) and springbok (Antidorcus marsupialis) populations in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) depend on high-quality grasslands, a limited and important vegetation type. We used microhistological analyses of dung samples from these ungulates to estimate their seasonal diet composition. Results showed that forage quality and availability drive wet season diet composition. Protein-rich short grasses on pans were important for all ungulates in the wet season. Wildebeest, gemsbok and springbok diets overlapped in the wet season. The favoured grasses were depleted during the dry season and the ungulates shifted their diet likely as an adaptive mechanism to maintain intake rates. Wildebeest fed on lower-quality grasses while springbok and gemsbok fed on dicotyledons when more preferred forage was scarce. Our findings demonstrate the importance of access to heterogeneity of vegetation types that provide high-quality resources in the wet season (saline pan grassland habitats) and dry season reserves of forage (woodland habitats).

Pre-airburst Orbital Evolution of Earth’s Impactor 2018 LA: An Update

Apollo meteoroid 2018 LA has become only the third natural object ever to be discovered prior to causing a meteor airburst and just the second one to have its meteorites recovered (at Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve). Here, we use the latest orbit determination of 2018 LA (solution date 18-July-2018) to search for minor bodies moving in paths comparable to that of 2018 LA using the D-criteria, which are metrics to study orbit similarity, and N-body simulations. Our results further confirm the existence of a dynamical grouping of asteroids that might be related to 2018 LA and show that the impactor could be a recent fragment spawned by a larger object, the 550-m wide, potentially hazardous asteroid (454100) 2013 BO73. Spectroscopic observations of 454100 during its next flyby with our planet (brightest at an apparent visual magnitude of 18.4 on 2018 mid-November) may confirm or deny a putative similar chemical composition to that of the recovered meteorites of 2018 LA.

Assessment of quality of water provided for wildlife in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana

Arid and semi-arid environments have low and unpredictable rainfall patterns resulting in limited availability of surface water for wildlife. In the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) wildlife populations have lost access to natural surface water through cordon fences, livestock and human encroachment along the access routes. Artificial waterholes have been developed in the reserve to compensate for this loss. However, there have not been any assessments of the quality of water provided for wildlife and how that may be contributing to populations declines in the CKGR. We assessed water quality from 12 artificial waterholes against both Botswana and international livestock standards for drinking. Overall the quality of water provided is poor and poses a health risk to both animals and humans. Eight out of twelve boreholes tested exceeded the maximum acceptable Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) limits while three and four boreholes have toxic levels of lead and arsenic, respectively. Thus, pumping ground water could have more negative than positive impacts on wildlife thus defeating the intended management purpose. Failure to provide water of acceptable quality is a major concern for wildlife management in the CKGR and it may underlie some wildlife declines in the reserve. These findings confirm that restriction of populations from natural water sources create complex management challenges, especially where safe and sustainable alternative sources are scarce. Restriction of access of the population to natural water sources by fences and provision of poor quality water could compromise the overall fitness of wildlife populations and contribute to their decline.

Water provision alters wildebeest adaptive habitat selection and resilience in the Central Kalahari

AbstractWildlife populations in semi‐arid regions require unrestricted mobility along ecological gradients and across large landscapes to enable adaptive responses to seasonal variability and patchy resources. In the Kalahari region of Botswana, herbivore populations historically depended on seasonal access to the nutrient‐rich Schwelle area in the wet season and to water from the Boteti River during drought periods. Blue wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) have lost access to these key habitats due to fences and encroachment of livestock and humans. We deployed satellite collars onto 10 female wildebeest in the CKGR to examine seasonal movements and habitat selection in relation to the environmental conditions and fragmented ecosystem. Wildebeest favoured open, short‐grass pan habitats in all seasons, probably in response to better forage quality and lower predation risk. The ability to remain in pan habitats during the dry season was a result of artificial water provision. A wildebeest herd that had no artificial water in its home range survived the dry season, whereas those wildebeest that were accustomed to water provision died when their water points failed in the dry season. Thus, water provision altered adaptive behaviour and reduced resilience of the population to the arid environment.

Conservation implications of brown hyaena (<i>Parahyaena brunnea</i>) population densities and distribution across landscapes in Botswana

The brown hyaena (Parahyaena brunnea) is endemic to southern Africa. The largest population of this near-threatened species occurs in Botswana, but limited data were available to assess distribution and density. Our objectives were to use a stratified approach to collate available data and to collect more data to assess brown hyaena distribution and density across land uses in Botswana. We conducted surveys using track counts, camera traps and questionnaires and collated our results and available data to estimate the brown hyaena population based on the stratification of Botswana for large carnivores. Brown hyaenas occur over 533 050 km² (92%) of Botswana. Our density estimates ranged from 0 brown hyaenas/100 km² in strata of northern Botswana to 2.94 (2.16–3.71) brown hyaenas/100 km² in the southern stratum of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. We made assumptions regarding densities in strata that lacked data, using the best references available. We estimated the brown hyaena population in Botswana as 4642 (3133–5993) animals, with 6.8% of the population in the Northern Conservation Zone, 73.1% in the Southern Conservation Zone, 2.0% in the smaller conservation zones and 18.1% in the agricultural zones. The similar densities of brown hyaenas in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and the Ghanzi farms highlight the potential of agricultural areas in Botswana to conserve this species. The conservation of brown hyaenas in the agricultural landscape of Botswana is critical for the long-term conservation of the species; these areas provide important links between populations in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.Conservation implications: Botswana contains the core of the brown hyaena population in southern Africa, and conflict mitigation on agricultural land is crucial to maintaining connectivity among the range countries.

Adaptive activity patterns of a blue wildebeest population to environmental variability in fragmented, semi-arid Kalahari, Botswana

The blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) population in semi-arid savannah regions face intense spatial and temporal environmental variability over the annual cycle. The population in the Kalahari has lost critical seasonal ranges outside the protected areas due to human induced landscape changes. The population is faced with sparse and patchy forage availability, seasonally very high day temperatures, high predation pressure and limited availability and variable quality of water. We investigated the adaptive strategies of wildebeest in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve with a focus on how daily activity patterns respond to environmental variability in semi-arid Kalahari. The population coped with heat stress by maximising their activity in the cool hours of the day. They avoided predation pressure and loss of body condition by minimising activity at night and in dry seasons, respectively. We conclude that seasonal variations in temperature and light play a critical role in the timing of foraging activity.

Foragers and fictions in the Kalahari: Indigenous identities and the politics of deconstruction

In this paper I examine assumptions about race and identity that inform debates about indigenous rights in southern Africa. I illustrate how the ‘Kalahari debate’ and the more recent ‘indigenous peoples debate’ both rely on dubious assumptions about what ‘social construction’ means. I draw from public controversies and academic debates surrounding the forced relocation of San from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana to illustrate two key arguments in this paper: The first is that deconstructionism does not always confront the forms of justice it claims as its priorities, such as racism and class inequalities; the second is that the deconstructionist project commits us to problematic assumptions about what ‘race’ means and what ‘real’ identities must be.

Dispossession in the Age of Humanity: Human Rights, Citizenship, and Indigeneity in the Central Kalahari

Over the past 50 years, the Central Kalahari region of Botswana became a site of struggles over land and resources rights, identity, citizenship, and indigeneity. The policies of the government of Botswana towards the San express the dominant Tswana perspectives on humanity and what is considered human. Since independence in 1966 the goals of the government of Botswana have been to sedentarise the San and to transform them into ‘modern’ citizens who live in villages, keep livestock, and engage in agriculture and business. In this paper I analyse the case of the people of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and their battles over rights and recognition as citizens of Botswana and as human beings. I examine how the government's decisions to deny Central Kalahari residents their distinct rights to natural resources such as wildlife—in spite of High Court decisions in the San's favour—as well as rights to services and development shared by other citizens—are linked to the dominant Tswana understanding of humanity.

Essentialism and the Indigenous Politics of Recognition in Southern Africa

ABSTRACTIn this essay, I explore familiar tensions between anthropological theories of identity and activism on behalf of indigenous causes, with special attention to strategic uses of theoretically dubious forms of essentialism. I examine the contradictions between essentialism and constructionism, and between recognition and redistribution, in light of San struggles for rights to traditional territories in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) in Botswana. I begin by outlining how the politics of theorizing in an apartheid context imposed a false choice between essentialist and deconstructionist views of identity. I then discuss the controversial relocation of San from the CKGR and how the opposition between an essentialist politics of recognition and a deconstructionist emphasis on redistribution framed public debates. I show how the competing positions shared a racial epistemology that requires us to see San as “prepolitical” people transitioning into a modern world, and in conclusion, I suggest that this shared epistemology sustains a racialized politics of recognition.

The Botswana Bushmen's Fight for Water & Land Rights in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve

The Botswana Bushmen live in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in the centre of Botswana. The area is known to be one of the most rugged, arid landscapes on the face of the planet. In recent years, due to claims from the Botswana government that the Bushmen needed to ‘develop’, extreme efforts have been made to force the Bushmen from the reserve originally allotted to them in the 1960s. Author’s Note I chose to research the situation of the Botswana Bushmen in the CKGR after learning about them when working with the organization Survival International. I since then have become a strong supporter of indigenous groups worldwide. The Bushmen in particular are an incredible example of the endurance of mankind in the most trying of environments. It is my belief that through sustainable development we can not only learn a great deal from those people whose voices otherwise would not be heard, but we can also show future generations the importance of the ethical treatment of all human beings.

Is There a Right to Water for the Baswara People in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR)? The Impact of the 2011 Judgement and the Implications of Botswana Government's Water 'Policy' in the CKGR

This short article details the suffering, marginalisation and discrimination of the Baswara people in Botswana. It however focusses on one of the major problems faced by this minority group since the late 1980s. The major problem of the Baswara has been that of access to water. This paper, which is a result of field research, trace the struggle of Baswara to access water and reveal the actual impact of their much publicised 2011 court 'victory' wherein the court held that they have right to water. The author argues that the 2011 judgement is only instrumental in as much as it states that the right to water is fundamental to the Baswara. Nevertheless, as was confirmed by the research findings, the judgement is unenforceable for the poor Baswara. Now with the international community’s probing eyes convinced that the water crisis in CKGR is solved, the Baswara are condemned to thirst and most will be left with no choice but to trail out of the Kalahari. If that happens, many of their fundamental rights are at stake.

Rethinking the human right to water: Water access and dispossession in Botswana’s Central Kalahari Game Reserve

This paper engages debates regarding the human right to water through an exploration the recent legal battle between San and Bakgalagadi and the government of Botswana regarding access to water in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The paper reviews the legal events that led to the realization of the human right to water through a decision of the Court of Appeal of Botswana in 2011 and the discursive context in which these events took place. We offer a contextual evaluation of the processes that allowed the actual realization of the human right to water for the residents of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, revisiting and extending dominant lines of inquiry related to the human right to water in policy and academic debates. Adding to these discussions, we suggest the use of ‘dispossession’ as an analytical lens is a useful starting point for a conceptual reframing of the human right to water. Doing so helps to expose some of the problems with the public/private binary, often at the centre of these debates, allowing for greater nuance regarding the potential of the human right to water in different contexts.