 Reference Base  Observations on two introduced black rhinos in Liwonde Na... |
|
Bhima, R.; Dudley, C.O., 1996. Observations on two introduced black rhinos in Liwonde National Park, Malawi. Pachyderm 21: 46-54, figs. 1-3, tables 1-2
|
|
|
|
| |
| Location: |
Africa - Southern Africa - Malawi |
| Subject: |
Distribution - Records |
| Species: |
Black Rhino |
 |
|
Liwonde National Park (548 kmy) is located in the Upper Shire Valley, which is part of the Great East African Rift Valley in southern Malawi. The terrain of the Park is generally flat except for three isolated groups of hills. The Shire River is a prominent feature along the western boundary. The full width of the river, with its riparian habitat on both sides, forms part of the Park for a stretch of over 40 km, as seen in Figure 1.
The main vegetation type in the Park is Colophospermum mopane woodland, which occupies about 70% of the total area of the Park. Other vegetation types are mixed woodland on the hills, floodplain, grassland and riverine forests/ thickets, drought deciduous forest thickets and mixed woodlands on the hills, all of which occupy minor areas. For a detailed account of the flora and plant communities, the reader is referred to Dudley (1994).
The Park has a variety of mammals, of which the elephant and the hippopotamus are the keystone species. Other common species include the waterbuck, sable antelope, impala, kudu and warthog.
The rhino sanctuary is located in an area predominated by mopane woodland, with a variety of other species such as Dalbergia melanoxylon, Albizia anthelmentica and A. harveyi. The Ntangai River cuts through the middle of the sanctuary with a border of riverine forest /thicket, characterised by tall trees such as Terminalia zambesiaca, Cordyla africana, Khaya nyasica and Diospyros mespiliformis, with an understorey of Friesodeilsia obovata, Markhamia and Diospyros spp. The savanna of the river's floodplain supports a vanety of tall grasses (1.5 - 2.5m) which include Digitaria milanjiana, Hyparrhenia filipendula, Panicum maximum, Setaria sphacelata and Sorghastrum bipennatum as well as scattered, large trees (15 - 25m) such as Acacia nigrescens, Scleroca a birrea and Xeroderris stuhlmannii.
The climate is characterised by a dry season from April to October and a rainy season from November to March. According to records from the Park's weather station at Chiunguni, annual rainfall ranges from 700 to 1.400 mm. Mean minimum temperatures range from 12C in July to 28C in November, with mean maximum temperatures of 20C to 40C for the same months. The first year the rhinos were in the Park (1994) was very dry, with a total recorded rainfall of only 639mm (unpublished meteorogical data). All natural water pools had dried up by mid-July, 1994. However, an artificial water hole was maintained near the boma throughout the year.
|
|
|
File available
details
Original text on this topic: