Madikwe Game Reserve

Madikwe Game Reserve is a conservation area in South Africa’s North West Province, bordering Botswana close to the Kalahari Desert. The reserve is home to a variety of wildlife such as elephants, lions, leopards and rhinoceroses, plus endangered wild dogs. Hundreds of bird species include ostrich, vultures and the large kori bustard. Animals often gather at the Madikwe Dam to drink at sunset.

The park is South Africa’s fifth largest game reserve. Previously used as farming land, the South African government decided that it would best be used as a national park to help economically uplift the disadvantaged area. In 1991 the area was declared a reserve and 10,000 mammals were relocated from other national parks. Madikwe houses approximately 66 large mammal species and 300 bird species. The area is comprised of vast open plains of grasslands, woodlands, rocky outcrops and mountains.