Chipinge Safari Area is a protected area in Chipinge District of

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

, west of the town of

Chipinge Chipinge, formerly known as Chipinga, is a town in Zimbabwe, located in Chipinge District, in Manicaland Province, in southeastern Zimbabwe, close to the border with Mozambique. Location The town lies approximately , by road, south of Mutare ...

Geography

The safari area covers 261km². It lies at the southwestern edge of the

Eastern Highlands :''"Eastern Highlands" also refers to Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea, and part of the Great Dividing Range, Australia.'' The Eastern Highlands, also known as the Manica Highlands, is a mountain range on the border of Zimbabwe ...

, and slopes generally westwards towards the valley of the Save River. Elevations range from 540 to 1132 meters. The Nyautsa, Chipunga, and Chipangayi rivers run from east to west through the park, draining off the highlands towards the Save River further west.

Plant communities

Miombo woodlands predominate on higher ground, and include closed and open woodlands of dry-season deciduous trees, principally ''

Brachystegia spiciformis ''Brachystegia spiciformis'', commonly known as zebrawood (not the genuine zebrawood, ''Microberlinia brazzavillensis''), or msasa (spelled as ''masasa''), is a medium-sized African tree having compound leaves and racemes of small fragrant gree ...

, B. tamarindoides'', and '' Uapaca kirkiana''. The drier lowlands are mopane woodland, with the trees '' Colophospermum mopane, Combretum zeyheri, Combretum mossambicense'', and '' Combretum imberbe''.

Baobab ''Adansonia'' is a genus of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). The eight species of ''Adansonia'' are native to Africa, Australia, and Madagascar but have also been introduced to other regions of the world, including Barb ...

''(Adansonia digitata)'' is also common.

Fauna

Large herbivores include

black rhino The black rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis''), also called the black rhino or the hooked-lip rhinoceros, is a species of rhinoceros native to East and Southern Africa, including Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namib ...

''(Diceros bicornis)'', bushbuck ''(Tragelaphus scriptus)'', common duiker ''(Sylvicapra grimmia)'', grysbok ''(Raphicerus melanotis)'',

impala The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'', lit. 'black-footed high-horn' in Ancient Greek) is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'', and tribe Aepycerotini, it ...

''(Aepyceros melampus)'',

klipspringer The klipspringer (; ''Oreotragus oreotragus'') is a small antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The sole member of its genus and subfamily/tribe, the klipspringer was first described by German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zi ...

''(Oreotragus oreotragus)'',

greater kudu The greater kudu (''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'') is a large woodland antelope, found throughout East Africa, eastern and southern Africa. Despite occupying such widespread territory (animal), territory, they are sparsely populated in most areas d ...

''(Tragelaphus strepsiceros)'',

warthog ''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly cons ...

''(Phacochoerus africanus)'',

waterbuck The waterbuck (''Kobus ellipsiprymnus'') is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa. It is placed in the genus ''Kobus (antelope), Kobus'' of the family Bovidae. It was first Scientific description, described by Irish naturalist Will ...

''(Kobus ellipsiprymnus)'', eland ''(Tragelaphus oryx)'',

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...

''(Equus quagga)'', and

bushpig :''"Bush pig" may also refer to the red river hog.'' The bushpig (''Potamochoerus larvatus'') is a member of the pig family that inhabits forests, woodland, riverine vegetation and cultivated areas in East and Southern Africa. Probably introd ...

''(Potamochoerus larvatus)''. Carnivores include

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

''(Panthera pardus)'',

spotted hyena The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUC ...

''(Crocuta crocuta)'', and

black-backed jackal The black-backed jackal (''Lupulella mesomelas'') is a medium-sized Caninae, canine native to East Africa, eastern and southern Africa. These regions are separated by roughly . One region includes the southernmost tip of the continent, includin ...

''(Canis mesomelas)''. Lions are occasionally seen in the wildlife area, but are not resident. Black rhinoceros was reintroduced to the park in the 1990s. Poaching has been a chronic problem in the safari area. Rampant poaching between 2006 and 2009 extirpated

wildebeest Wildebeest ( , ,), also called gnu ( or ), are antelopes of the genus ''Connochaetes'' and native to Eastern and Southern Africa. They belong to the family Bovidae, which includes true antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep, and other even-toed ...

''(Connochaetes taurinus)'' from the safari area, and reduced populations of eland, waterbuck, and impala to fewer than 20 individuals. Black Rhinos numbered seven at reintroduction and had increased to 31 individuals, but recent poaching reduced the population to 13 individuals."Chipinge Safari Area". Save African Rhino Foundation. Accessed 11 April 2020

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References

{{reflist Chipinge District Geography of Manicaland Province Protected areas of Zimbabwe Southern miombo woodlands Zambezian and mopane woodlands