Madikwe Game Reserve

Madikwe Game Reserve
A group of African bush elephants in Madikwe Game Reserve
Location in North West province
Location	North West Province, South Africa
Nearest city	Zeerust
Coordinates	24°49′S 26°13′E / 24.817°S 26.217°E / -24.817; 26.217
Area	750 km2 (290 sq mi)
Established	1994; 30 years ago (1994)
www.experiencemadikwe.com
Madikwe Game Reserve (North West (South African province)) Show map of North West (South African province) Madikwe Game Reserve (South Africa) Show map of South Africa

Madikwe Game Reserve is a protected area in South Africa and was named after the Madikwe or Marico River, on whose basin it is located. It comprises 750 km² (290 sq mi) of bushland north of the small town of Groot-Marico up to the border with Botswana. It was opened in 1994.^[1]

Madikwe Game Reserve is currently the fifth largest game reserve in South Africa encompassing 750 km² (290 sq mi), including the now incorporated privately owned land.^{[citation needed]} The area used to be farm land, but owing to the poor soil type, farming was not that successful. After extensive research, the South African government found that this land would best be utilised as a game reserve, to economically uplift this otherwise rather poor area.

The process of reintroducing wildlife to the area began in 1992 under the codename Operation Phoenix which relocated entire breeding herds of the African bush elephant, African buffalo, south-central black rhinoceros and southern white rhinoceros along with various species of antelopes. Following Operation Phoenix, Madikwe has also successfully reintroduced predatory species such as lion, cheetah, spotted hyena and African wild dog so that more than 60 mammal species occur in the game reserve.^{[citation needed]}

The terrain is mainly open grasslands and bushveld plains, interspersed with rocky outcrops and single mountains.^{[citation needed]}

Madikwe forms part of a semi-arid region on the edge of the Kalahari desert. In this region the climate can be broken into the rainy season (October – April) and the dry season (May – September). Summers overlap with the rainy season. Temperatures are high (32 °C / 90 °F) with cooling thunderstorms common in the late afternoon, evenings are mild (18 °C / 64 °F). Winters here are dry, with mild days (21 °C / 70 °F) and chilly nights (3 °C / 37 °F). Game viewing is good at all times of the year though most animals tend to congregate around available water sources during the winter.^[2]

• Madikwe Game Reserve official website