Habitats and Wildlife 
 

Kasanka National Park is one of the most picturesque parks in Zambia and contains a rich diversity of animal, bird and plant life.  Several rare species are abundant in the park, including sitatunga, wattled crane, Ross’s Lourie and Blue Monkeys.  Kasanka is also host to a unique and spectacular congregation of several Million Straw-Coloured Fruitbats every November and December.


Despite being one of Zambia’s smallest parks at 390 sq. kilometers (39,000 Hectares), Kasanka has a wide variety of habitats, each hosting their own associated wildlife.

 

Sitatunga Ram




Brachystegia woodland, known as Miombo, covers the largest area and is home to Roan and Sable Antelope, Hartebeest, Warthog, Bushpig, Common Duiker and Yellow Baboon.    It is also  habitat for many of the unusual bird species found in Kasanka.



Small clumps of evergreen thicket (both ‘Mushitu’ swamp forest and remnant ‘Mateshe’ dry evergreen) are popular with Blue monkeys, Bushbuck, Leopard and Bushpig.  The largest piece of Mushitu forest near Fibwe hide, is the seasonal  roost for the visiting straw-coloured fruitbats




Lake Basin ‘Chipya’ woodland is notable for the tall grass that grows as the sun penetrates its open canopy, and this lead to very hot fires in the dry season (Chiya means “burnt” in the local language). It is also well represented and popular with the woodland species.

 

 


 

 

Grassy ‘Dambo’ drainage channels support Waterbuck and Reedbuck and their fresh tasting grasses which re-grow after fire are favoured by many woodland species in the dry season especially when their young our being weaned.


 

 

Puku are the dominant animals in the park, depending on the rich grasses in alluvial soils near water, especially along the Kasanka river and Wasa lakes.

 

 

 

 

The rivers and lakes are habitat for Hippos, Crocodiles, Otters and Monitor Lizards not to mention fish!

 

 

 

 

Lining much of the 100 kms of river are riparian fringe forest, rich in birdlife and a favourite place for Blue and Vervet Monkeys.

 

 

 

 

Perhaps Kasanka’s crown jewels are the papyrus swamp areas, pictured here in a winter morning mist, which are home to the world’s densest and most visible population of Sitatunga!


Roaming across all these habitats are the small but growing population of the Lords of the Jungle, African Elephants.

 


 
 

 

 

Side-striped Jackal, Civet, Genet, Porcupine and several species of Mongoose are amongst the nocturnal species.   

 

                  

 

The list of birds seen in Kasanka now stands at 412 but is expected to keep growing with more expert observation. Birds of special interest include Pel’s Fishing Owl, Wattled Crane, Osprey, African Fish Eagle and Ross’s Lourie. Saddle-billed Storks, several species of Bee-eater, Kingfisher and Hornbill are also regularly seen.
 

Click here for an up-to date list of birds recorded in Kasanka 
Download Birdlist

See Mammal List

Independent review of birdwatching in Kasanka

A printed booklet listing all the birds, Mammals, fish and reptiles will soon be available thanks to the hard work of Chris and Tilde Stuart!
 


 

White cheecked Bee-eater

Burning the Bush

By Edmund Farmer, Kasanka Park Manager

Many people unfamiliar with the region will think that all bush fires are bad and should be prevented in a national park. However to pursue this policy in management has been proved time and again disastrous! When the rains finish in April/May, the hot sun starts drying everything up, so that by October (the hottest month) the central African bush becomes a tinderbox. Any fire started by accident or deliberately would sweep uncontrollably over huge distances. 

The high temperatures caused by burning of very dry grass scorch and even kill trees, destroying woodland. It’s not possible to prevent any fires being lit. Poachers will deliberately burn the bush, and fires traditionally used by villagers outside, will come across the park boundary. Narrow firebreaks are little use against such huge fires, which have burning particles swirling in their strong winds, and can continue across a few leaves lying on the ground to find fresh fuel the other side of the firebreak. If an area does not burn one year then the dried grass and leaves will remain and add to the fuel load the next year.

Fire in the papyrus swamp kills off the papyrus which takes years to recover”

The historical origin of fire in the region is controversial but man is generally implicated as the main source. Over thousands of years the vegetation has been modified with a reduction in evergreen forests and an increase in fire resistant trees, so that the dominant woodland is now Brachystegia or ‘Miombo’ as it is locally known. This has an open enough canopy to allow short to medium grasses to grow and has an annual cycle of fire. Kasanka also has some good examples of ‘Chipya’ woodland that has spaced taller and shorter trees allowing more sunlight in and hence denser grass to grow. Late fires in the tall grasses under Chipya woodland can be particularly hot and destructive.

It would be impossible in practice to protect an areas the size of Kasanka from all fire, but to do so would, over time, dramatically change the landscape to the detriment of the large mammals living there, as new evergreen canopy prevented the growth of grasses. The objective of park management is to preserve all the varied habitats found in Kasanka, especially the rarer and smaller ones such as the ‘Mushitu’ evergreen swamp forests, remnant ‘Mateshi’ dry evergreen patches, and papyrus swamps. The main tool for protecting these areas is controlled early burning. 

By choosing the right time of year and weather conditions for each area, grass can be burned off without the excessive heat that damages trees. Fire sensitive areas (which don’t usually burn unless very dry by October) can be protected from the chance of late fires by burning a protective ring of surrounding grasslands and woodland. Conversely it may sometimes be desirable to burn the edge of grassy floodplains with hot fires to discourage the encroachment of woodland. Not all the park is burnt every year, but areas are burnt into a mosaic pattern, leaving isolated unburned areas. In this way young saplings get a chance to establish themselves and any unwanted fires late in the dry season will be unable to go far.