Kafue National Park

Size and Landscape

The Kafue is the largest and oldest National Park in Zambia. It covers a total of 22,480km2 and was declared a National Park in 1950. It is situated entirely upon a plateau country.

The Kafue National Park environment is probably one of the most dramatic and scenic in Zambia. It is blessed with a vast landscape with unparalleled beauty. In terms of biodiversity, Kafue National Park has one of the highest species diversity in Zambia. One hundred and fifty eight (158) species of fishes are known to occur in the Park. All the spectacular large mammals naturally occurring in Zambia are found in the Park expect for giraffe and tsessebe although black rhinoceros seems to be extinct.

The Kafue National Park environment, which is still raw in nature, is well endowed with natural resources from different geographical features. The rock outcrops, rivers, floodplains, swamps and woodlands form part of the physical environment where economic potential is high and is yet to be sustainably developed to improve the equality of the lives of people.

Miombo woodland, with its associated open grassland dambos along the lower – lying ground, dominates much of the Park. In the southern portion, there are some areas of mopane woodland and a few patches of teak forest. In the extreme north of the park is an open grassland area, the Busanga Plain, which merges into the Busanga Swamps.

One of the largest coverage of miombo woodland in protected area in Africa is the Park. It preserves soils, as well as, water and provides habitats for a broad range of species especially hartebeest and sable antelope.

The Park is the major water catchment area for the Kafue River System, which is essential for ecological and social economical factors downstream, conservation of Kafue flats, generation of electricity at Kafue Gorge and supply of water to the Capital City Lusaka, as well as, Nakambala Sugar Estate.

The Kafue National Park is rich in cultural resources and through this magnetic force, the area is certainly one of the best tourist destination in Africa. Through cultural tourism, tourists can interact with local people to share their individual experience.

There are eleven (11) tour operators existing in the Park. The Park has great potential for tourism activities. It can provide conservation education and revenue generation through non- consumptive and consumptive tourism.

Habitat and animal population

One of the highest diversity of fauna species in Zambia thus 23 larger herbivores species and 11 species of large carnivores are found in the Park. The large mammals in this Park include buffalo, hartebeest, reedbuck, waterbuck, puku and impala. Other mammals are zebra, warthog, roan, sable, wildebeest, eland, oribi common duiker, baboon, velvet monkey, red Lechwe and the sitatunga. Among the carnivores found in the park are lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, jackal and wild dog. Hippopotamus and crocodile are found in places where there is water.

There is a great variety of bird life found in the park. The most notable are the open bill, storks, herons, ibises, duck, crowned and wattled cranes.

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