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Chief’s Island in Botswana
The largest island in the Okavango Delta, Chief’s Island, is situated in the prestigious Mombo concession of the renowned Moremi Game Reserve. You’ll find the fascinating Big Five and many other wild animals on Chief’s Island. The predators on this island are particularly well known. High concentrations of top prey species, such as buffalo, impala, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, tsessebe, and warthog, are drawn to its expansive floodplains and variety of habitats.
As water levels rise, much of the delta’s wildlife retreat to this area, which has been raised above the water level by tectonic activity. As a result, the island is home to some of Botswana’s most diverse wildlife. Wildlife abounds on Chief’s Island, where visitors can spot it on exhilarating game drives, bush walks, and boat tours. Elephants, lions, leopards, buffalo, and rhinoceros are all found in this area, so your chances of seeing the Big five are excellent.
On Chief’s Island, visitors have a choice of comfortable, luxurious accommodation options. A few operators even have mobile camps on the island.
Mombo Concessions
On the northwestern tip of Chief’s Island lies one of Okavango’s most famous game viewing areas, the Mombo Concession. Mombo is known to BaYei locals as “the place of plenty” and is arguably the most fertile land of the Okavango.
Mombo is located just below where the Okavango River splits into three primary channels and supports a diversity of wildlife hard to find anywhere else in Africa. When the water levels of the Okavango rise during winter floods, many animals move to find dry land on the island.
In the nineties, wild dogs ruled the Mombo Concession, with the largest pack having as many as 40 dogs. Their presence inspired the book Running Wild by Dave and Helene Hamman, which played an essential role in raising awareness of these lesser-known carnivores’ behavior and vulnerable status.
Nowadays, Mombo is a great place to visit on a Botswana vacation as it is famous for its large lion population and very relaxed leopards.
