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WONDERS OF NATURE
Okavango river. Nature miracle
This amazing river flows in an amazing place and ends in an amazing way. The fauna of its shores surprises with its multiplicity and diversity. No less amazing is the unique language of the people living in its basin.
The Okavango is the only permanent river in the vast and unusual area called the Kalahari, located between the Zambezi, Limpopo and Orange rivers in South Africa. It is customary to write "Kalahari Desert" on maps. But it's not a desert at all. In the summer it rains heavily, and in terms of annual rainfall (from a thousand millimeters in the north to two hundred and fifty in the south), these places cannot be compared, for example, with the Sahara or the deserts of Arabia. Scientists have not been able to agree on what the Kalahari is. Some call it "desert savanna", others use the term "green semi-desert", others believe that in relation to such places it is more appropriate to speak of steppe park landscapes. One way or another, there is water in the Kalahari. There are temporary (for the rainy season) rivers, there are also lakes (most of which, however, dry up in winter). There are trees, shrubs, and herbs here, and in large numbers. Umbrella acacias and tree-like spurges grow in the Kalahari forty to fifty meters apart, as befits savannah trees. Bushes and grass (sometimes up to a meter high) also do not cover the ground with a continuous carpet; sand islands are always visible between the green patches of vegetation. But this vegetation is quite enough for thousands of herds of antelopes, buffaloes and zebras for food, especially since the Okavango - this South African Nile, provides them with water all year round. Starting in the savannahs of southern Angola, this river through gorges and rapids, along steep slopes with waterfalls, rapidly rushes to the south. And only in the Kalahari it calms down, as if forgetting about its violent temper. In the endless sea of the sandy plain, it spreads through the labyrinths of branches, lagoons, lakes, forming a completely unusual river delta at the confluence ... into nowhere. It is called "an island of water in a sea of sand". Sixteen square kilometers of thickets of papyrus, shrubs and algae provide shelter for many birds and animals all year round. And in the high water, in May-June, the semi-dry arms of the delta turn into stormy foaming streams, one of which reaches the "blue heart of the Kalahari" - the beautiful and habitable fresh lake Ngami, open to science by the great Livingston. The remnants of the Okavango waters wander for another three hundred kilometers and disappear into the vast Makarikari swamp lake. The lake is a giant soda brine sump. In the dry season from an airplane, it resembles a lunar landscape: a hard white blanket spreads to the very horizon with occasional dark spots of water. Winding strips of shoals, surrounded by a motionless sultry haze, are clearly distinguished. All (or almost all) species of African fauna are represented in the Okavango Delta. Hippos coexist with crocodiles on green islands. Herds of graceful antelopes rush by. Cautiously looking around, a shy water goat will gallop - sensing danger, he plunges into the water to the very nostrils. Graceful giraffes and gloomy buffaloes and wildebeest come to the watering hole. Leisurely, with self-respect, elephants and rhinoceroses march to the water, shaggy and serious warthogs dart busily in the thickets. Zebras, elands and ostriches graze nearby in a friendly company - together it is easier for them to detect predators, since the sight of birds is complemented by the sensitive hearing of striped horses and the delicate sense of smell of antelopes. And, of course, leopards, cheetahs and royal lions with their constant retinue of hyenas and jackals are found around this abundance of game, and grim vultures slowly circle in the air, looking out for prey. The abundance of fauna in the Okavango Delta is amazing. In addition to the animals already mentioned, there are about four hundred species of birds and up to seventy species of fish. And the flora of the delta has more than a thousand trees and shrubs. And a traveler who goes to this unique oasis on a local pirogue - mokoro, will be able to see and capture on film water antelope and hyena dogs, which have almost disappeared in other parts of Africa, admire the herds of elephants, zebras and blue wildebeest during such a kind of water safari, or catch on fishing rod of a hefty bream, and even a tiger fish. And flocks of pelicans and storks, flamingos and marabou will look at the floating pirogue from the shores and islands... When the heat gives way to coolness and an impenetrable tropical night thickens over the Kalahari, the inhabitants of these places - Tswana shepherds and Bushmen hunters find their way by the stars, so bright in these latitudes. Their main reference point is the southern tropical constellation of Capricorn. They turn to him with requests, they thank him for a successful hunt. The Bushmen are a mysterious people. In their appearance, they do not resemble most of the inhabitants of South Africa. Yellow skin and narrowed eyes bring them closer, rather, to the peoples of the Mongoloid race. How and why they ended up in the depths of the "Black Continent", science does not yet know. The language of the Bushmen puzzled (and still does!) even linguists. A European can not only pronounce half of his sounds, but even write them down. The compilers of dictionaries did not find icons for such sounds, and they simply wrote down: "clatter sound", "smack sound", "kiss sound" and so on. The Bushmen are nomadic hunters, and the Kalahari, which back in the XNUMXth century was considered one of the richest regions of Africa in animals, gave them the opportunity to feed their families with tasty game, as well as edible roots and juicy fruits of wild melon. But the appearance of white people with firearms quickly led to a reduction in the number of wild animals, and besides, more and more watering places began to seize the neighboring tribes of pastoralists, the Tswana, who pushed the Bushmen into the most arid regions. However, this intelligent people of born hunters and trackers has managed to adapt to new conditions and now roams further south, closer to the basin of the Orange River and its tributaries that dry up in winter. The ability to find places in dry channels where there can be water under the sand helps them out, making it possible to hold out until the rainy season, and the ability to eat everything that moves on grass or sand, from larvae to locusts, allows them to survive in case of an unsuccessful hunt. This amazing tribe causes involuntary sympathy with its quick wit, musicality, humor and kindness, which, by the way, was demonstrated by the recently released talented film "Probably the gods are crazy ...". Okavango crosses from northwest to southeast almost half of the vast South African country of Botswana, located entirely in the Kalahari. Until recently, this poor pastoral state did not shine with success in the economy. But since the 1960s of the XX century, when several large diamond deposits were discovered in the bowels of Botswana at once, the situation has changed. Now the country can afford to drill wells for water in the dry park woodlands of the Kalahari, build civilized settlements for the Bushmen and Tswana, and, finally, take care of the protection of wildlife. National parks and reserves now occupy almost a fifth of Botswana. They are also in the north, in the Zambezi basin, and in the southwest - on the tributaries of the Orange. But the three largest reserves cover the Central Kalahari, the Okavango Delta and Lake Makarikari. So the wild animals of the Okavango basin are finally provided with a quiet life, their herds are multiplying, and the population of the Kalahari is growing. And the Bushmen, roaming its expanses, again see each other off in the morning with the usual parting word: "Good hunting!" Author: B.Wagner
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