Bone-dry Plains
PHOTOGRAPH BY GEORGE STEINMETZ, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
Botswana's Okavango Delta was named the 1,000th World Heritage Site by UNESCO this week, a hard-won designation that affords special protection against human development.
The delta encompasses a 3,000-square-mile (7,770 square kilometers) plain whose nutrient-rich water provides a sanctuary of channels, lagoons, and islands for thousands of plant and animal species. Among the area's inhabitants: the largest population of elephants on Earth.
After some initial work to expand the delta's tourism infrastructure, the delta's new status will bring a halt to development.
—Jennifer S. Holland
Published June 29, 2014
Great Pride
PHOTOGRAPH BY BEVERLY JOUBERT, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
There's no fearing water for these cats. The lions of Duba Plains, in the Okavango Delta's northern reaches, often get wet when charging after prey. According to the Wilderness Wildlife Trust, the prides here account for an estimated 1,500 of the world's lions; Botswana is one of only seven countries believed to have more than 1,000 of the big cats left.
Published June 29, 2014
Dance of Death
PHOTOGRAPH BY BEVERLY JOUBERT, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
Cape Buffalo surround a wounded bull, denying a meal to a lioness of the delta's Tsaro pride, named for the trees that the lions use for shade. The lions and buffalo here are intimately linked, with the cats rarely letting the herd of potential prey out of their sight and regularly taking out its weakest members. The buffalo don't go easily, though, fighting back as a unit and sometimes wounding or even killing one of their formidable predators.
Published June 29, 2014
Getting Bigger
PHOTOGRAPH BY FRANS LANTING, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
Elephants and impalas gather at a dry-season watering hole, an oasis when the land isn't flooded. Due to a successful conservation effort and limited poaching, Botswana houses the largest savanna elephant population, with some 150,000 animals whose range has been expanding farther into the delta in recent years. An increase in reported human-elephant conflicts is one unintended consequence.
Published June 29, 2014
Movers and Shakers
PHOTOGRAPH BY FRANS LANTING, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
A hippo bursts from its watering hole in the Okavango Delta's Savuti River. With skin that's particularly vulnerable to the sun's burning rays, these animals stay in the water for much of the day, their movements carving channels through the swampy land.
Published June 29, 2014
Water Is Life
PHOTOGRAPH BY FRANS LANTING, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
Impalas quench their thirst at a dry-season watering hole. These graceful animals are the most abundant herbivores of the Okavango, choosing their habitat based on the expansion and constriction of grazing lands as floodwaters come and go.
Published June 29, 2014
Pups at Play
PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS JOHNS, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
Smart, social, and critically endangered, wild dog pups tussle over a strip of impala hide on a dry stretch of plain. The animals' Latin name, Lycaon pictus, means "painted dog." (See ")
Published June 29, 2014
Facing Extinction
PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS JOHNS, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
With a bloodstained muzzle from a recent meal, this is one of four cubs that photographer Chris Johns documented for a cover story on cheetahs in the December 1999 issue of National Geographic magazine. Africa's most endangered cats, cheetahs have faced huge struggles over the years, with dangers including predation by bigger cats, habitat degradation, illegal trade, and farmers who want to protect livestock.
Published June 29, 2014
Big Frog
PHOTOGRAPH BY FRANS LANTING, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
An African bullfrog reigns supreme as the delta's waters rise … unless there's a crocodile around.
Published June 29, 2014
River People
PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID DOUBILLET, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
A river Bushman poles through a watery mix of lilies and light in the Okavango. People have thrived in this shifting landscape for hundreds of years.
Published June 29, 2014
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