 
Botswana is a unique combination of desert and delta, which together holds a large concentration of wildlife. The country is vast and wild and over 40% is designated as protected. Denver Zoo currently supports research on African wild dogs, brown hyaenas, lappet-faced vultures, lions, wildebeest and cheetahs.
Botswana Fact Sheet (pdf)
Botswana Project List
Read Notes from the Field Journal
 |
| Botswana Animal Facts: |
 |
African Wild Dog are only found in Africa and are also referred to as, Cape hunting dog or painted dog. They are social hunters and travel together in packs and require large amounts of habitat to roam. Populations have declined over the years due to habitat loss and predator control killing, and despite protective laws, wild dogs are still being eradicated by herders to protect domestic livestock. |
 |
Brown Hyena live in dry savannah in South Africa and are not very dependent on water. They live together in clans and being they are territorial species, mark their territory through scent glands. Brown hyenas are vocal, but do not possess the distinct laughing call that Stripped hyeanas do. Today many misconceptions about the hyenas as predators have resulted in their decline, due to hunting and persecution by farmers.
|
 |
Lappet-Faced Vultures are one of six Southern African vultures and are the most powerful and aggressive. They are scavengers and feed mostly on animal carcasses. Vultures are responsible for keeping the ecosystem clean by ingesting decaying meat of animals and preventing the spread of disease.
|
 |
Wildebeest travel in vast herds that transverse the Serengeti in their annual migration. They migrate in order to find new grass to feed. Over the years, fences were built across the Kalahari, which have prevented wildebeests from reaching watering holes and grazing grounds, resulting in a large decline in wildebeest populations. |
|
 |
|
