Background
The park spans two ecoregions, both of them woodland savannah, distinguished by the dominant tree: Southern Miombo woodlands cover the higher slopes of the valley, while Zambezian and Mopane woodlands cover the bottom of the valley. The Mopane tree tolerates the higher temperatures and lower rainfall found at lower elevations than Miombo trees which are found on the higher plateau. Within these woodland savannahs are larger patches of grassland, so that grazers such as zebra and leaf browsers such as giraffe are found in profusion in the same areas. Patches of flooded grassland habitats (floodplains) are found close to the river, on which hippopotamus graze at night. Their dung released into the river fertilises its waters and sustains the fish population which in turn sustains the crocodiles.
The Luangwa valley, continued to the west by the Lunsemfwa River valley, contains some varieties of animals such as Cookson's wildebeest and Crawshay's zebra which are endemic or near-endemic to the valley. It also represents something of a natural barrier to human migration and transport, no roads cross it and this has helped conserve its wildlife.
Although the park is generally well-protected from poaching, the park's black rhinos were wiped out by 1987, and the elephant population has been under serious pressure at times.
The main settlement of the park is actually outside its eastern boundary at Mfuwe, home to an international airport.
One of the park's greatest visitor attractions is at Mfuwe Lodge, where every November, a small herd of elephants walks right through the Lodge's reception area in order to reach a wild mango tree.
Mfuwe Lodge provides safari vehicles with guides having very good knowledge of the wild life of Mfuwe. The safari drives are normally taken in 2 shifts for all the visitors in the dry season. The first one is in the morning from 6:00 AM to about 11:00 AM and the second one from 3:00 PM to about 7:00 PM. There are refreshment breaks of half hour in each shift.
Read more about this topic: South Luangwa National Park
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