Etosha National Park
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Etosha National Park, national reserve, northern Namibia. Covering some 8,598 square miles (22,269 square km), it centres on the Etosha Pan, a vast expanse of salt with lone salt springs, used by animals as salt licks. It has one of the largest populations of big-game species in the world, including lions, elephants, rhinoceroses, elands, zebras, and springbok. Abundant birdlife includes flamingos, vultures, hawks, eagles, ostriches, guinea fowl, and geese.
The eastern portion of Etosha National Park has a tree-savanna type of vegetation (abounding in tambouti [a deciduous tree that is locally used for furniture and cabinetwork], wild fig, and date palms); moringa trees are typical of the more arid thorn-shrub savanna of the western part of the park. The German colonial fort of Namutoni (originally built in 1901, destroyed in 1904, and reconstructed between 1905 and 1907), at the eastern end of the pan, resembles a fort of the French Foreign Legion. It has been restored for use as a tourist camp for the park.