Okavango Aerial Photo

Here are several versions of an aerial photo (#2991) taken during a 1973 survey of Northern Botswana. The photo depicts a small area (4.4 x 4.4 miles) near the center of the Okavango Delta and includes the home ranges of the two baboon groups that I studied from 1977 to 1980.

I thank Rabindra Das and the Director, Department of Surveys and Mapping, Ministry of Lands and Housing, Government of Botswana for kindly permitting me to post this photo here.

All images Copyright © Department of Surveys and Mapping, 1973


Unmarked Photo. The darker areas with few trees are seasonally flooded, whereas the lighter areas with many trees ("islands") are permanently dry.

Resolution: low (139K)   med (2.9M)   high (26M)

Points of Interest. Larger islands are outlined in blue. Lloyd's Camp was relocated to Xaxaba in 1975 when the Moremi Wildlife Reserve was expanded to the Boro River.

Resolution: low (150K)   med (3.1M)

Baboon Home Ranges. Red lines indicate the approximate home ranges of White Island Troop and Camp Troop from 1977-1980. These ranges collapsed to the islands during periods of flooding.

Resolution: low (95K)   med (1.9M)

Note 1. Lloyd Wilmot named "White Island" after the conspicuous strip of sand running down its center.

Note 2. I always carried a copy of this photo while watching the baboons in order to map their travel movements and to keep my bearings.

Note 3. The original photograph measures 25 x 26 inches. I scanned it in six sections and reassembled the digital version using The Gimp.