Fauna
Madikwe Game Reserve accommodates a wide variety of animals in the following diverse habitats:
- Mountainous areas
- Plateau
- Rocky hills
- A perennial river
- Seasonal wetlands
- Sandy and clay areas
- Bushveld
- Kalahari veld
- Savanna
Despite the toll that hunting and farming activities have taken on the Madikwe area, Operation Phoenix has seen the successful reintroduction of species not seen for more than 100 years. (Read more about Operation Phoenix here.) The animal life is consequently rich and varied, ranging from insects to large game including all of the Big 5. The bird population includes over 340 different species.
Flora
The geological formations, tempered by millions of years of erosion, have produced the complex foundation of soils and rocks on which the diverse vegetation of Madikwe grows.
The climate, which varies dramatically from one corner of the reserve to the other, is another factor in determining the type of vegetation found here. The major veld types include:
- Mixed bushveld
- Kalahari bushveld
- Arid sweet bushveld
- Other turf thornveld
Madikwe has inherited a mosaic of vegetation resulting from the veld management styles employed on the farms that previously made up the reserve.