!Khamab Kalahari Reserve Setting New Standards In Conservation With Minimal Human Interference.
!Khamab Kalahari Reserve is all about conservation!
One of !Khamab’s objectives is to attain a high level of success in the conservation of endangered species through good conservation management.
!Khamab currently conserves a considerable percentage of the free roaming wild dog population of South Africa and has provided numerous wild dogs over the years for the establishment, and strengthening, of populations elsewhere which includes other Southern African countries. As a member of the Wild Dog Advisory Group (WAG), !Khamab is in a healthy position to contribute significantly to the Range Expansion Project.
Recently, three wild dog females were captured on !Khamab and translocated to a reserve in Kwazulu-Natal, where they will be bonded with unrelated males in a boma for a short period, before being released to establish a new wild dog population.
Even our low-impact tourism policy is defined by conservation principles and sets high standards in the industry! Our guests enjoy a private and intimate experience of the Kalahari landscape, and with only eight guest beds on offer in 90 000 hectares of the Green Kalahari it makes !Khamab one of the reserves with the lowest bed to land ratios in Southern Africa, guaranteeing exclusivity.
The word “Kalahari” evokes visions of sand, wilderness and mystique. Few places in the world paint such a vivid picture in the minds of most, just by the mere mention of its name.
Derived from the Tswana word Kgala, which means “the great thirst”, the Kalahari Desert is punctuated by big skies, uninterrupted stars, red sands, golden winter grass, spectacular summer thunderstorms and a wonderful diversity of wildlife. This stirs feelings of wonder and discovery in those lucky enough to visit.
Tucked away on the south-eastern edge of the Kalahari is !Khamab Kalahari Reserve, the largest, private, Big-5 reserve in South Africa.
This 90 000 ha reserve has the vision to become a premier conservation area renowned for its positive contribution to the conservation of landscapes, habitats and ecological processes and the full spectrum of herbivores and carnivores typical of the eastern Kalahari Bushveld.
!Khamab’s name is also the Nama name for the only true fox in sub-Saharan Africa – the Cape Fox – which is often associated with arid and semi-arid areas. Although not as well known as the charismatic, large predators, its shy, nocturnal habits make it the perfect little creature to represent the reserve in its uniqueness.
The Kalahari Desert
Regarded as one of few remaining wilderness areas in Africa! The largest undisturbed, arid sandy savannah in Africa, covering almost 930 000 square km of Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, it forms part of the 1.5 million square kilometre Kalahari Basin, which includes the Okavango Delta and Makgadikgadi Pans.
It is the southernmost desert in Africa and the second largest desert on the continent after the Sahara. Because of its higher average rainfall, it is not classified as a true desert, but rather a semi-desert.
Its rainfall varies from as little as 5 inches in the southwest to 20 inches in the northeast. However, even the higher rainfall parts of the Kalahari lack surface water as the deep red sands instantly drains almost all rainwater, turning the Kalahari into a mostly waterless landscape.
!Khamab in the Kalahari
!Khamab was established in 2007 as a private conservation venture in the Eastern Kalahari Bushveld bioregion. Several properties – mostly cattle and mixed cattle and game farms – were acquired.
These were then amalgamated into a single property. A fence running 230km around the outside perimeter was erected before all internal fences were removed. The result is a 90 000ha reserve that is completely open, allowing animals to roam freely and ecological processes to play out.
The size of the reserve makes !Khamab the largest conservation area in the North West province by some margin. Its size means it plays a leading role in conservation in the province and a significant portion of the Eastern Kalahari Bushveld.
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