Kalahari Desert

The Kalahari Desert is one of the largest desert it is approximately 900,000 square kilometers, which covers much of Botswana , Namibia , and South Africa. It is  mostly a sandy desert but after a good rain there is lots of  grazing lands that have lots of grass. It usually has high temperatures and has a small.amount of rain fall , it usually rains up to 3 -7.5 inches. The temperatures in the  summertime range from 20-45degrees.

There is only really one huge  river located in the Kalahri Desert, The Okvango  which flows into a delta which is northwest , this river also forms marshes which has many different kinds of wildlife.Also dry riverbeds act as  a watering hole for animals such as giraffes, elephant , lion , and cheetahs, they can also be used for grazing areas.There are a variety of different species in the Kalahri Desert some of them are Jackals , cheetahs , lions , leopards, warthogs, wild dogs , and hyenas. There are also many different species of birds and reptiles located in these regions.As well there are lots of plant life such as acacia trees, herbs , grasses , and there are 400 different identified plants in this desert.

Plant Life

 ( Hoodia Cactus)



Wild Dog  or African Wild Dog 

The wild dogs  apperance is that it has long  legs and a slender body , its ears are rounded and make it easy for them to hear , also they have blotched or mottled body coloration the main colors are orange- brown , white , and a mixture of black.  They have good eyesight and prefer to hunt during the daylight , and they will chase their prey for long distances until it is exhausted then death comes easily. Wild dogs can have up to 1-7 pups born in the dry season.

 

 (Location of Wild Dog)

Leopard 

Leopards are normally  nocturnal and are not very active during the day , they can adapted well to any other climate but they prefer to live in craggy hills and riverine areas. Leopards are often mistaken to be cheetahs because of their markings.Leopards are like domestic cats , they have large heads, and retractable claws .Despite their  size leopards are able to drag their prey into the trees , and they are very good climbers. A leopard can have up to 2-3 cubs. The leopard can live up to 20 years , also the males weigh 70 kg and the females weigh 45 kg .

Personal Opinion 

 I feel like this would be a very good place to visit because there would be so many different kinds of wildlife and a huge  variety of plant life. The Kalahari  Desert  has a hot climate but I think I would be able to adapt to this if I was ever to go visit this place. 

I decided to write about this place because I found that the wildlife was interesting and the fact that there is barley any rain throughout the year so I imagine there would be no bugs.I also chose to write about this because I wanted to learn something new and found out that there are many game reserves in this region. Another thing that interested me about this place is that they don't have very many rivers they basically only have one major river , and  you can see small marshes located around it.

Plus it is said that it mostly consists of grasslands , but only if there has been a good rain before.As well I found out that it has  a wide range of plant life that is completely different  from ours here in Manitoba.