Moremi Game Reserve is the result of a joint cooperation between the local community and conservationists. It is one of the most spectacular game reserves in Africa and is the ideal place for a Botswana safari.
The Moremi Game Reserve is considered to be one of the first reserves in Africa to be formed by the indigenous population. The Reserve covers the land that traditionally belonged to the Batawana people. In the 1960s the area was governed by Chief Moremi III widow.
She was concerned about the toll that hunting and the encroachment of cattle were having on the animals within their hunting grounds. After negotiations the Moremi Game Reserve was officially declared on the 15th of March 1963, and was run by the Fauna Conservation Society of Ngamiland.
The reserve at that stage only consisted of the area known as the Mopane tongue. In the 1970's after more negotiations Chief Moremi's royal hunting grounds were also included in the reserve. Then the reserve was once again enlarged to include a strip of land to the northwest corner of the reserve, between the Jao and Nqoga rivers. This was done to make sure that it represented all the major Okavango habitats.
The reserve now protects about twenty percent of the heart of the Okavango Delta. It is home to over 300 percent of the worlds remaining Wild Dog population and is one of the few places in Botswana that is a sanctuary for the highly endangered White Rhino.
