The Okavango River (formerly spelt Okovango or Okovanggo), is a river in southwest Africa. It is known by this name in Botswana, and as Cubango in Angola, and Kavango in Namibia. It is the fourth-longest river system in southern Africa, running southeastward for 1,600 km (1,000 mi). It begins at an elevation of 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) in the sandy highlands of Angola . Farther south, it forms part of the border between Angola and Namibia , and then flows into Botswana . The Okavango does not have an outlet to the sea. Instead, it discharges into the Okavango Delta or Okavango Alluvial Fan, in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert . The Cuito River is a major tributary.
41-638: Kavango may refer to: Geographical features Okavango River , a river in southwest Africa, which drains into the Okavango Delta Okavango Delta , a delta in Botswana Okavango Basin , an endorheic basin that includes the Okavango River and Okavango Delta. Administrative units Kavango Region , a region of Namibia until 2013, when it
82-530: A laissez-faire position, which argues that humans should not harm wild animals but that humans should not intervene to reduce natural harms that they experience. This subsection focuses on anthropogenic forms of wildlife destruction. The loss of animals from ecological communities is also known as defaunation . Exploitation of wild populations has been a characteristic of modern man since our exodus from Africa 130,000 – 70,000 years ago. The rate of extinctions of entire species of plants and animals across
123-481: A sport or recreation. Meat sourced from wildlife that is not traditionally regarded as game is known as bushmeat . The increasing demand for wildlife as a source of traditional food in East Asia is decimating populations of sharks, primates, pangolins and other animals, which they believe have aphrodisiac properties. Malaysia is home to a vast array of amazing wildlife. However, illegal hunting and trade poses
164-561: A 250 km pipeline to divert water from the river into Namibia to help relieve the drought. Botswana, however, uses the Okavango Delta for both tourism income and a water source. The Department of Water Affairs in Botswana has submitted that 97% of the water in the river is lost through evaporation, so the country cannot afford to lose any extra water. Namibia, in turn, has argued that it will only divert half of one percent of
205-442: A big flood year, the seasonal swamp stretches to 150 km across from east to west; one of the factors that leads to the ever-changing nature of the delta is the flatness of the area. If one were to take a cross section of the delta at its widest point, one would find that the height variation from the mean over that 150 km is less than 2 m, which means that a minor sand deposition can cause major changes. In very wet years,
246-575: A common subject for educational television shows . National Geographic Society specials appeared on CBS since 1965, later moving to American Broadcasting Company and then Public Broadcasting Service . In 1963, NBC debuted Wild Kingdom , a popular program featuring zoologist Marlin Perkins as host. The BBC natural history unit in the United Kingdom was a similar pioneer, the first wildlife series LOOK presented by Sir Peter Scott ,
287-539: A dramatic and rapid growth in recent years worldwide and many elements are closely aligned to eco-tourism and sustainable tourism . Wild animal suffering is suffering experienced by non-human animals living in the wild, outside of direct human control, due to natural processes such as disease , injury , parasitism , starvation , malnutrition , dehydration , weather conditions , natural disasters , killings by other animals , and psychological stress . Some estimates indicate that these individual animals make up
328-836: A higher than usual flow into the Okavango, turning swathes of outlying desert into a huge wetland. Although the summer rains fall in Angola in January, they take a whole month to travel the first 1,000 km of the Okavango River, and then they take a further four months to filter through the plants and numerous channels of the final 250 km of the delta. As a result, the flood is at its biggest sometime between June and August, during Botswana's dry winter months. The delta then swells to three times its permanent size, attracting animals from kilometres around and creating one of Africa's greatest concentrations of wildlife . At its widest point in
369-455: A part of the Kalahari was a massive lake, known as Lake Makgadikgadi . In this time, the Okavango would have been one of its largest tributaries. Both Namibia and Botswana experience drought, and as a result, concerns have been expressed about possible conflict over use of the river's water. Namibia has built a water canal, measuring about 300 km long, and has proposed a project to build
410-600: A part of the river's flow may extend along the Magweggana River (actually a northeastern distributary of the Okavango Delta) and enter the Zambezi River , bypassing the Kalahari. The river carries annually 28,000 tonnes of suspended sediment and a similar amount of bedload to the terminal swamps. Most of the particulate sediment carried by the river is fine sand, with some silt and mud, thanks to
451-434: A period of acclimation can increase in numbers significantly, having destructive effects on many elements of the native environment of which they have become part. This final group is one of secondary effects. All wild populations of living things have many complex intertwining links with other living things around them. Large herbivorous animals such as the hippopotamus have populations of insectivorous birds that feed off
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#1732773283103492-505: A threat to Malaysia's natural diversity. A November 2008 report from biologist and author Sally Kneidel, PhD, documented numerous wildlife species for sale in informal markets along the Amazon River , including wild-caught marmosets sold for as little as $ 1.60 (5 Peruvian soles). Many Amazon species, including peccaries , agoutis , turtles , turtle eggs, anacondas , armadillos are sold primarily as food. Wildlife has long been
533-624: Is affected by human activities . Some wildlife threaten human safety, health, property and quality of life . However, many wild animals, even the dangerous ones, have value to human beings. This value might be economic, educational, or emotional in nature. Humans have historically tended to separate civilization from wildlife in a number of ways, including the legal, social and moral senses. Some animals, however, have adapted to suburban environments. This includes such animals as feral cats , dogs, mice, and rats. Some religions declare certain animals to be sacred, and in modern times, concern for
574-839: Is considered its preferred area or territory . Many processes associated with human habitation of an area cause loss of this area and decrease the carrying capacity of the land for that species. In many cases these changes in land use cause a patchy break-up of the wild landscape. Agricultural land frequently displays this type of extremely fragmented, or relictual habitat. Farms sprawl across the landscape with patches of uncleared woodland or forest dotted in-between occasional paddocks. Examples of habitat destruction include grazing of bushland by farmed animals, changes to natural fire regimes, forest clearing for timber production and wetland draining for city expansion. Mice, cats, rabbits, dandelions and poison ivy are all examples of species that have become invasive threats to wild species in various parts of
615-476: Is further evidence that humans have unleashed a sixth mass extinction event. According to CITES , it has been estimated that annually the international wildlife trade amounts to billions of dollars and it affects hundreds of millions of animal and plant specimen. Wildlife trade refers to the products that are derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve
656-619: Is low, as during the dry season. In the rainy season, an outflow to the Boteti River in turn seasonally discharges to the Makgadikgadi Pans , which features an expansive area of rainy-season wetland where tens of thousands of flamingos congregate each summer. Part of the river's flow fills Lake Ngami . Noted for its wildlife , the Okavango area contains Botswana's Moremi Game Reserve . Every wet season, Angola receives three times more rainfall than Botswana, discharging
697-535: The natural environment has provoked activists to protest against the exploitation of wildlife for human benefit or entertainment. Global wildlife populations have decreased significantly by 68% since 1970 as a result of human activity, particularly overconsumption , population growth , and intensive farming , according to a 2020 World Wildlife Fund 's Living Planet Report and the Zoological Society of London 's Living Planet Index measure, which
738-409: The traffic of drugs and weapons . Stone Age people and hunter-gatherers relied on wildlife, both plants and animals, for their food. In fact, some species may have been hunted to extinction by early human hunters. Today, hunting, fishing, and gathering wildlife is still a significant food source in some parts of the world. In other areas, hunting and non-commercial fishing are mainly seen as
779-524: The Kavango Region of Namibia and in Botswana . In January 2021 ReconAfrica announced the start of drilling operations on the first exploration well. Environmental activists have expressed concern that ReconAfrica’s plans for its test wells have not been properly vetted through Namibia’s environmental review process, however ReconAfrica and both the governments of Namibia and Botswana have stated that
820-869: The US have dominated the market for shows about wildlife on cable television, while on Public Broadcasting Service the NATURE strand made by WNET-13 in New York and NOVA by WGBH in Boston are notable. Wildlife television is now a multimillion-dollar industry with specialist documentary film-makers in many countries including UK, US, New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Germany, Japan, and Canada. There are many magazines and websites which cover wildlife including National Wildlife , Birds & Blooms , Birding , wildlife.net , and Ranger Rick for children. Many animal species have spiritual significance in different cultures around
861-618: The company's activities have followed due process and that no fracking will occur. ReconAfrica’s drilling area is in the Kavango West region which contains a multicountry conservation park, six locally managed wildlife reserves, and one UNESCO World Heritage site, however the drilling license does not include any of these protected areas. Wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species , but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans . Wildlife
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#1732773283103902-568: The competition between members of a population. However, if this hunting continues at rate greater than the rate at which new members of the population can reach breeding age and produce more young, the population will begin to decrease in numbers . Populations that are confined to islands, whether literal islands or just areas of habitat that are effectively an "island" for the species concerned, have also been observed to be at greater risk of dramatic population rise of deaths declines following unsustainable hunting . The habitat of any given species
943-472: The context of the philosophy of religion as an instance of the problem of evil . More recently, starting in the 19th century, a number of writers have considered the subject from a secular standpoint as a general moral issue, that humans might be able to help prevent. There is considerable disagreement around taking such action, as many believe that human interventions in nature should not take place because of practicality, valuing ecological preservation over
984-482: The geological makeup of the Okavango River catchment which is largely underlain by Kalahari sand. There is low concentration of dissolved solids in the river water - around 40 mg/L, made up mostly of silica, calcium and magnesium bicarbonates - but these dissolved solids form the largest component of sediment carried into the delta because the annual water volume is so large. During colder periods in Earth's history,
1025-517: The many parasitic insects that grow on the hippo. Should the hippo die out, so too will these groups of birds, leading to further destruction as other species dependent on the birds are affected. Also referred to as a domino effect , this series of chain reactions is by far the most destructive process that can occur in any ecological community . Another example is the black drongos and the cattle egrets found in India. These birds feed on insects on
1066-611: The planet has been so high in the last few hundred years that it is widely believed that a sixth great extinction event ("the Holocene Mass Extinction ") is currently ongoing. The 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services , published by the United Nations ' Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services , says that roughly one million species of plants and animals face extinction within decades as
1107-515: The principal tributaries of the Okavango Delta , and affect its health. In Angola, the upper reaches of the Cuito suffers clogging due to controlled burns of the vegetation, reducing water flow downstream as the accumulated water instead flows into the sand . Before it enters Botswana, the river drops 4 m (13 ft) in a series of rapids known as Popa Falls, visible when the river
1148-435: The reproductive capacity of the population is being exploited. The effects of this are often noticed much more dramatically in slow-growing populations such as many larger species of fish. Initially when a portion of a wild population is hunted, an increased availability of resources (food, etc.) is experienced increasing growth and reproduction as density dependent inhibition is lowered. Hunting, fishing and so on, have lowered
1189-793: The result of human actions. Subsequent studies have discovered that the destruction of wildlife is "significantly more alarming" than previously believed, with some 48% of 70,000 monitored animal species experiencing population declines as the result of human industrialization. According to a 2023 study published in PNAS , "immediate political, economic, and social efforts of an unprecedented scale are essential if we are to prevent these extinctions and their societal impacts." The four most general reasons that lead to destruction of wildlife include overkill, habitat destruction and fragmentation , impact of introduced species and chains of extinction. Overkill happens whenever hunting occurs at rates greater than
1230-721: The river's flow, and that it is entitled to any water that flows through its territory. To deal with such issues, in September 1994, Angola, Namibia, and Botswana signed an agreement to form the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission , to provide advice to the three countries about the best ways to share the Okavango River's resources. ReconAfrica , a petroleum exploration company headquartered in Canada , has obtained exploration licenses for more than 13,600 square miles of land in
1271-789: The three days of Eid. In Christianity the Bible has a variety of animal symbols, the Lamb is a famous title of Jesus. In the New Testament the Gospels Mark , Luke and John have animal symbols: "Mark is a lion, Luke is a bull and John is an eagle." Wildlife tourism is an element of many nations' travel industry centered around observation and interaction with local animal and plant life in their natural habitats. While it can include eco - and animal-friendly tourism, safari hunting and similar high-intervention activities also fall under
Kavango - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-570: The title Kavango . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kavango&oldid=1089515583 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Language and nationality disambiguation pages Okavango River The Cubango and Cuito Rivers are
1353-489: The trade of living or dead individuals, tissues such as skins, bones or meat, or other products. Legal wildlife trade is regulated by the United Nations ' Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which currently has 184 member countries called Parties . Illegal wildlife trade is widespread and constitutes one of the major illegal economic activities, comparable to
1394-487: The umbrella of wildlife tourism. Wildlife tourism , in its simplest sense, is interacting with wild animals in their natural habitat , either actively (e.g. hunting/collection) or passively (e.g. watching/photography). Wildlife tourism is an important part of the tourism industries in many countries including many African and South American countries, Australia , India , Canada , Indonesia , Bangladesh , Malaysia , Sri Lanka and Maldives among many. It has experienced
1435-509: The vast majority of animals in existence. An extensive amount of natural suffering has been described as an unavoidable consequence of Darwinian evolution , as well as the pervasiveness of reproductive strategies , which favor producing large numbers of offspring, with a low amount of parental care and of which only a small number survive to adulthood, the rest dying in painful ways, has led some to argue that suffering dominates happiness in nature. The topic has historically been discussed in
1476-487: The well-being and interests of individual animals, considering any obligation to reduce wild animal suffering implied by animal rights to be absurd, or viewing nature as an idyllic place where happiness is widespread. Some have argued that such interventions would be an example of human hubris , or playing God , and use examples of how human interventions, for other reasons, have unintentionally caused harm. Others, including animal rights writers, have defended variants of
1517-517: The world, and they and their products may be used as sacred objects in religious rituals. For example, eagles, hawks and their feathers have great cultural and spiritual value to Native Americans as religious objects. In Hinduism the cow is regarded as sacred. Muslims conduct sacrifices on Eid al-Adha , to commemorate the sacrificial spirit of Ibrāhīm in Islam ( Arabic-Abraham ) in love of God . Camels, sheep, goats may be offered as sacrifice during
1558-490: The world. Frequently species that are uncommon in their home range become out-of-control invasions in distant but similar climates. The reasons for this have not always been clear and Charles Darwin felt it was unlikely that exotic species would ever be able to grow abundantly in a place in which they had not evolved. The reality is that the vast majority of species exposed to a new habitat do not reproduce successfully. Occasionally, however, some populations do take hold and after
1599-637: Was a studio-based show, with filmed inserts. David Attenborough first made his appearance in this series, which was followed by the series Zoo Quest during which he and cameraman Charles Lagus went to many exotic places looking for and filming elusive wildlife—notably the Komodo dragon in Indonesia and lemurs in Madagascar. Since 1984, the Discovery Channel and its spinoff Animal Planet in
1640-429: Was also synonymous to game : those birds and mammals that were hunted for sport . Wildlife can be found in all ecosystems . Deserts , plains , grasslands , woodlands , forests , and other areas including the most developed urban areas , all have distinct forms of wildlife. While the term in popular culture usually refers to animals that are untouched by human factors, most scientists agree that much wildlife
1681-503: Was split into Kavango East and Kavango West Kavango East , one of 14 regions of Namibia Kavango West , one of 14 regions of Namibia People and languages Kavango people , an ethnic group inhabiting the Kavango region Kavango languages , a group of languages that partially overlaps with the Kavango people Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with