Botswana Wildlife Guide on Wildebeest
On a morning in the Okavango Delta a Buffalo was approaching the water, in direct line of a Wildebeest moving away from the water. When they were a few meters apart both stopped and stood looking at each other. This went on for a long time before the Wildebeest lay down and the Buffalo followed suit. This whole incident went on for more than an hour. Due to circumstances the outcome could not be observed but two hours alter both animals were gone.
Okavango Delta and Makgadikgadi Pans.
The Wildebeest population of Botswana has dropped by more than 90% in the past twenty years.
At the time of independence Botswana was one of the poorest countries in the world with most of its foreign earnings coming from the beef industry. The European Union agreed to buy Botswana's beef on condition that the country controlled the movement of wildlife into the domestic herds' ranges in an attempt to stem foot and mouth disease.
What the government did was to erect a series of fences across Botswana. These were generally done without thought for the wildlife. At the time in Botswana was Africa's second largest Wildebeest migration where almost 500 000 wildebeest migrated between the wetlands of the north and the dry central Kalahari after good rains when the Kalahari was lush and watered.
The fence on the northern boundary of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve was erected when the Wildebeest were still in the south. When the area began to dry up the animals began their trek north only to be confronted by the newly erected fence. Faced with thirst and starvation the Wildebeest piled up against the fence.
On a morning in the Okavango Delta a Buffalo was approaching the water, in direct line of a Wildebeest moving away from the water. When they were a few meters apart both stopped and stood looking at each other. This went on for a long time before the Wildebeest lay down and the Buffalo followed suit. This whole incident went on for more than an hour. Due to circumstances the outcome could not be observed but two hours alter both animals were gone.