Zimbabwe: Landuse in Dry Tropical Savannas

Wildlife resources

Wildlife embraces all living organisms occurring naturally in wild habitats - plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates. Southern Africa harbours a vast range of these plant and animal species, and remains among the few regions in the world where abundant quantities and varieties of wild animals roam the wild. The biological wealth is obvious when the plant and animal life of the region is compared with areas elsewhere of comparable size. The average number of plant species per unit area of land is almost double that of Brazil, almost four times that of the united states, and over six times that of Sudan. While the world average for the number of plant species per 1,000 square kilometres (sq km) is 1.69, the southern Africa have 16 species per 1000 sq km. In the case of mammals, the average is 0.18 species for every 1000 sq km - six times the world average. Some of the region's protected areas have been classified as world heritage sites in recognition of their international ecological significance.

The protection of large mammals have been a key factor in the establishment and location of protected areas in southern Africa region. Over 40 different large mammal species inhabit the region. Of these, five species carnivores (animals which feed on meat) and the rest are herbivores (plant eaters). Animals, like people, require food and water to survive, and the availability of both determines their distribution. They also have habitat preferences, which vary from one specie to another depending on how they have adapted to a particular environment.

Mammals which inherit dry savanna include

• black rhino ,
• white rhino ,
• elephants ,
• nyala ,
• impala ,
• kudu ,
• hippopotamus
• lion

Large herbivores also move within and between ecosystems. Just as people drift towards greener pastures, animals tend to follow the distribution of near-the-surface soil moisture where green grass grow. This is particularly true of grazers. Animal migrations are prompted by rainfall pattern. Man's intervention affects this natural migration in one way or the other. Either through the construction of settlements across the animals natural migratory paths or through setting aside protected areas for wildlife, in the form of national parks or more recently in the establishment of game farms and private conservancies.