South Luangwa, Zambia
South Luangwa National Park lies at the heart of Zambia’s Luangwa Valley, a vast and ecologically significant wilderness at the southern end of the Great Rift Valley. The Luangwa River, one of Africa’s last remaining free-flowing rivers, winds through the valley for 800 km, shaping an ecosystem rich in biodiversity. The park, together with its surrounding Game Management Areas (GMAs), covers 1.4 million hectares of largely intact habitat, supporting an extraordinary variety of wildlife.
South Luangwa is home to over 60 mammal species and 450 bird species, including regionally significant populations of lions, leopards, and African wild dogs. The valley is also home to rare and endemic species such as Crawshay’s zebra, Cookson’s wildebeest, and the Luangwa giraffe (Giraffa tippelskirchi thornicrofti), a subspecies found only in this region. As one of Zambia’s last remaining elephant strongholds, the valley plays a crucial role in the conservation of these iconic animals.
The unique combination of rich floodplains, woodlands, and oxbow lagoons makes South Luangwa one of Africa’s most important conservation landscapes. However, increasing pressure from poaching, habitat loss, and human-wildlife conflict threatens its delicate balance, making CSL’s work in this region more critical than ever.
