We were delighted to see a great variety of wildlife in their natural habitat. The Government of Botswana has made significant efforts to manage this resource, which of course boosts tourism significantly. One of the measures that has been put in place in this country is the total ban on big game hunting. (Correct at the time of writing - but unfortunately this may be relaxed by the government in the future.) I obviously whole-heartedly support this ban. However there was a rather unexpected consequence that I hadn't realised until part way through the holiday. In South Africa (& also in Zimbabwe at the end) we had exotic meats to eat - Kudu, crocodile, etc. However in Botswana, goat was the most exotic meat I ate. I realise that the hunting ban thus meant a restriction to only domestic animals being available to carnivores, such as myself.
Being close up to a playful pride of lions was particularly enchanting. We also happened across a pair of leopards guarding their fresh Impala kill.
We did see a Rhino & her calf, albeit at a distance in the Kharma Rhino Sanctuary, hence I only managed one decent photo at the maximum zoom of my camera.
We saw elephants in all the National Parks and even in the Okavango Delta. The scariest experience we had was when our vehicle got in the way of a herd of elephants annoying a couple who then mock-charged our vehicle. A test of nerves until our driver blinked first and made a rapid exit.
Other animals that were very common included the (highly photogenic) zebras & impalas as well as wallowing hippos. Really we enjoyed seeing the behavior of all animals that we are not used to.