Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

The park is located largely within the southern Kalahari Desert. The terrain consists of red dunes, sparse vegetation, occasional trees, and the dry riverbeds of the Nossob and Auob Rivers. The rivers are said to flow only about once per century. However, water flows underground, providing life for grass and Vachellia erioloba trees growing in river beds. The rivers may flow briefly after large thunderstorms. ==Wildlife==

With over 470 documented species, the park has abundant wildlife, including lion, cheetah, African leopard, spotted hyena and brown hyena. Smaller mammals include African wildcat, bat-eared fox and Cape fox, black-backed jackal, caracal, genets and honey badger, as well as meerkats and mongooses. ==Conservation==

Conservation planning around the park has included work on the Western Kgalagadi Conservation Corridor project, intended to maintain and restore wildlife access to resources and support community development and tourism in a corridor linking Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Conservation International Botswana participated in related coordination and worked with Botswana’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks on the corridor project. ==Weather==

The weather in the Kalahari can reach extremes. January is midsummer in southern Africa, and the daytime temperatures often exceed . Winter nights can be quite cold, with temperatures below freezing. Extreme temperatures of and up to have been recorded. Precipitation is sparse in this desert area. {{Weather box ==Facilities==

The park has three traditional tourist lodges called "rest camps". These are fully serviced lodges and include amenities such as air conditioning, shops, and swimming pools. There are also six wilderness camps in the park. The wilderness camps provide little more than shelter and wash water; visitors must supply their food, drinking water, and firewood. == Visitors ==

From 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018, the park received 52,463 visitors, up from 48,221 in the previous year. ==History==

The Kalahari Gemsbok National Park in South Africa was established on 31 July 1931 mainly to protect the migrating game, especially the gemsbok, from poaching. In 1948 an informal verbal agreement was made between the then Bechuanaland Protectorate and the Union of South Africa to set up a conservation area in the contiguous areas of the two lands. In June 1992, representatives from the South African National Parks Board (now SANParks) and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks of Botswana set up a joint management committee to manage the area as a single ecological unit. A management plan was drafted, reviewed, and approved in 1997. The parties agreed to cooperate in tourism and share equally in park entrance fees. On 7 April 1999, Botswana and South Africa signed a historic bilateral agreement whereby both countries undertook to manage their adjacent national parks, the Gemsbok National Park in Botswana and the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park in South Africa as a single ecological unit. The boundary between the two parks had no physical barriers, although it is also the international border between the two countries. This allowed for the free movement of animals. On 12 May 2000, President Festus Mogae of Botswana and President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa formally launched Southern Africa's first peace park, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. ==Cultural preservation and establishment of !Xaus Lodge==

In October 2002, the governments set aside 580 km2 (224 mi2) for the use of the native peoples, the Khomani San and Mier communities. This was divided between 277.69 km2 of San Heritage Land and 301.34 km2 of Mier Heritage Land. The South African National Parks (SANParks) manages the land under contract. This land was named the !Ae!Hai Heritage Park. The settlement agreement also provided for the communities to receive funds for the specific purpose of constructing a tourism facility. The lodge was named !Xaus Lodge (meaning 'heart' in the local language) and is managed commercially on behalf of the ‡Khomani San and Mier communities by Transfrontier Parks Destinations. ==Fracking==

In December 2015, it was reported in the media that the government of Botswana quietly sold the rights to frack for shale gas in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Reports said it granted prospecting licences for , and – more than half of the Botswanan part of the park – to a United Kingdom-listed company called "Nodding Donkey". The sale was not reported at the time. In November 2015, the company changed its name to "Karoo Energy". In February 2016, Botswana's Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism refuted these reports saying, "There are also no licenses for fracking in the KTP" and "no intention to issue any approvals for fracking in the KTP or any other national park or national game reserve anywhere in Botswana". ==Gallery==

File:Dunes rouges du Kgalagadi kalahari.JPG|Red dunes in the Kgalagadi-Kalahari File:Kgalagadi-0005.jpg|The gemsbok or oryx, for which the original parks were named, standing in a dry riverbed File:Philetairus socius -nest in South Africa-8.jpg|Social bird nests File:Kgalagadi-0001.jpg|Urikaruus Camp File:This is mine - Cheetah.jpg|A Southern African cheetah with a carcass File:Male Kalahari lion.jpg|A male lion at a waterhole File:Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park - Suricata suricatta.jpg|Meerkats are abundant File:Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park - springbok.jpg|Herd of springboks ==See also==