Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 per cent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, Zambia to the north and Zimbabwe to the northeast. With a population of slightly over 2.4 million people and a comparable land area to France, Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. It is essentially the nation-state of the Tswana people, who constitute nearly 80 per cent of the population.
White Africans account for around 3% of the population of Botswana.
Botswana became a British protectorate in 1885 and gained independence as a Commonwealth nation in 1966. White settlers in Botswana, mainly Afrikaners and a small number of English-speakers, began arriving in the 1860s and primarily settled on farms near the South African border. The White population in Botswana never exceeded 3,000 individuals. The English spoken by the local population is influenced by South African dialects. (Full article...)
The hartebeest (/ˈhɑːrtəˌbiːst/; Alcelaphus buselaphus), also known as kongoni or kaama, is an Africanantelope. It is the only member of the genus Alcelaphus. Eight subspecies have been described, including two sometimes considered to be independent species. A large antelope, the hartebeest stands just over 1 m (3 ft 3 in) at the shoulder, and has a typical head-and-body length of 200 to 250 cm (79 to 98 in). The weight ranges from 100 to 200 kg (220 to 440 lb). It has a particularly elongated forehead and oddly-shaped horns, a short neck, and pointed ears. Its legs, which often have black markings, are unusually long. The coat is generally short and shiny. Coat colour varies by the subspecies, from the sandy brown of the western hartebeest to the chocolate brown of the Swayne's hartebeest. Both sexes of all subspecies have horns, with those of females being more slender. Horns can reach lengths of 45–70 cm (18–28 in). Apart from its long face, the large chest and the sharply sloping back differentiate the hartebeest from other antelopes. A conspicuous hump over the shoulders is due to the long dorsal processes of the vertebrae in this region.
Gregarious animals, hartebeest form herds of 20 to 300 individuals. They are very alert and non-aggressive. They are primarily grazers, with their diets consisting mainly of grasses. Mating in hartebeest takes place throughout the year with one or two peaks, and depends upon the subspecies and local factors. Both males and females reach sexual maturity at one to two years of age. Gestation is eight to nine months long, after which a single calf is born. Births usually peak in the dry season. The lifespan is 12 to 15 years. (Full article...)
Image 12Man on donkey herding goats in a dry river bed (from Economy of Botswana)
Image 13A 1960 stamp of the Bechuanaland Protectorate featuring images of Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II, the first and last British monarchs of the protectorate (from History of Botswana)
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