Helen Cannon

Life and Death in the Extraordinary Makgadikgadi Pans

This photo was taken in the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park in Botswana. It is a remarkable, remote place that lies southeast of the Okavango Delta and is surrounded by the Kalahari Desert. Following rain, the Makgadikgadi Pans become an important habitat for migrating animals and the large predators that prey on them. A dry, salty clay crust most of the year, the pans are seasonally covered with water and grass, and are then a refuge for birds and animals in this very arid part of the world. Most of the water in this area comes from the Nata River which starts in Zimbabwe near Bulawayo. A smaller amount of water is supplied by the Boteti River from the Okavango Delta.