Chief's Island, Okavango Delta, Botswana
Chief’s Island, the largest island in the delta, was formed by a fault line which uplifted an area over 70 km long and 15 km wide.
Historically it was reserved as an exclusive hunting area for the chief Moremi.
It now provides the core area for much of the resident wildlife when the waters rise.
Named after Chief Moremi,Chief’s Island is located in the world-renowned Moremi Game Reserve.
Chief’s Island is one of the many islands created by the seasonal flood waters of the Okavango Delta.
It is well-known for the finest game viewing in Southern Africa,
including both black and white rhino completing the Big Five.
Open grasslands are interspersed with termite mounds and ilala palms.
Marula trees, rain trees, leadwood and acacia are found in the mature woodlands whilst lagoons and wetlands have rich shoots,
a favourite of grazers.
Chief's Island is famous for its game concentrations and rightly so.
There are many large herds of impala, red lechwe, zebra, wildebeest and buffalo whilst tsessebe, giraffe and reedbuck are also often seen.
Warthogs seem to be everywhere, as do big troops of baboon, vervet monkeys and banded mongoose.
The lagoons are home to surprisingly large crocodiles and a number of noisy hippos.
You'll often find the elephants here, large breeding herds quenching their thirst.
The predators are excellent with many resident prides of lion and large packs of hyena.
Cheetah can be found on the open plains whilst leopard are present in high densities but are often harder to spot.