Namibia’s breathtaking Etosha National Park turns 100

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2007

ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK, Namibia (AFP) — The Etosha National Park, once the world's largest game reserve and home to 114 different mammal species, celebrates its centenary this month as the jewel in Namibia's crown.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists flock each year to Etosha in the northern of the mainly desert nation of around two million people, making it a mainstay of the economy for a country which gained its independence only 17 years ago.

Apart from elephants, rhinos and big cats such as lion and cheetah, it is also home to 340 species of birds -- including migratory pink flamingos -- who find a breeding haven in the massive mineral pan which gives the park its name.

Etosha, literally "the great void," refers to the shallow depression of some 5,000 square...