science

Nata Bird Sanctuary

Nata Bird Sanctuary is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nata Bird Sanctuary rather than just read about it. In short: The Nata Bird Sanctuary, the only protected reserve in the northeastern periphery of Sowa Pan in Botswana, is a community-managed project, with assistance from the Nata Conservation Committee and national and international organizations. Founded in 1988, it opened for operations in 1993; it encompasses an area of 230 square kilometres (89 sq mi), with the objective of conservation of wildlife.

Key takeaways

Nata Bird Sanctuary belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nata Bird Sanctuary to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nata Bird Sanctuary from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Nata Bird Sanctuary, the only protected reserve in the northeastern periphery of Sowa Pan in Botswana, is a community-managed project, with assistance from the Nata Conservation Committee and national and international organizations. Founded in 1988, it opened for operations in 1993; it encompasses an area of 230 square kilometres (89 sq mi), with the objective of conservation of wildlife. The community project is managed by a Trust titled the "Kalahari Conservation Society", which has members drawn from the four villages of Nata, Sepako, Maposa and Manxotae in the vicinity of the sanctuary. The prominent wildlife species in the sanctuary are reported to number 165 bird species. The sanctuary is of international importance due to its population of 250,000 lesser flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor) and greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus), which visit the sanctuary every year during the winter period to breed, after the rainy season, when the water sources are full. The community-initiated sanctuary received the coveted "Tourism for Tomorrow" award for the Southern Hemisphere in the first year it opened, in 1993.

Geography The Nata sanctuary is situated at the mouth of the Nata River delta, about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the Nata village at the northeastern border of the Sua Pan (salt pan) within the larger Makgadikgadi. The Makgadikgadi Pans Landscape, located in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve to the southeast of the Okavango Delta, is the most important of natural habitats. It covers wild life conservation parks such as the Makgadikgadi National Park and the Nxai Pan National Park, apart from the Nata Bird Sanctuary, which is "one of the largest breeding sites of Lesser and Greater flamingo in the world." This region was inhabited by the Nata, Sepako, Maposa and Manxotae communities, who grazed their 3500 and odd cattle in the area. The villagers were persuaded to move their cattle so that a securely fenced sanctuary could be established covering an area of 230 square kilometres (89 sq mi); 45% of the sanctuary lies in the Sua Pan. A raised wooden platform within the sanctuary provides vistas of the Sua salt pan and the rich bird life of the sanctuary. The roads within the sanctuary are now well maintained. Some areas of the park, where black "cotton" soils are found, can pose problems for road transport during the rainy season.

History The Nata Conservation Committee began planning in 1988 to establish a bird sanctuary in the delta of the Nata River, to conserve and preserve the wild life, particularly the bird species. These dominate the Sua Pan at the mouth of the Nata River; an ephemeral stream bordering the Sua Pan. The Kalahari Conservation Society, with funds contributed by national and international organisations, is credited with ensuring the voluntary participation of the local people. The local people not only relocated their cattle of about 3,500 heads to adjacent land but also built a network of dirt roads. Nata Bird Sanctuary, now one of the three breeding grounds of flamingos in Africa, is the largest. It has been recognized by UNESCO as one of the “largest breeding sites of lesser and greater flamingo in the world” and a site of international importance.

Fauna

Among the wild life species noted in the sanctuary are 165 bird species. Other species of wild life are also reported, though of limited numbers.

Avifauna

The bird sanctuary has about 165 species of birds; the lesser and greater flamingos, great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) and pink-backed pelican (Pelecanus rufescens) are the most dominant species, they arrive annually in large numbers as part of their migration during the winter season. Some of the other notable bird species recorded are: avocet, blackwinged stilt (Himantopus himantopus), blacksmith lapwing (Vanellus armatus), black-necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis), bustards, carmine, darters, African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer), geese, korhaans, pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis), black-chested snake-eagle (Circaetus pectoralis), blue-cheeked bee-eater (Merops persicus), Cape teal (Anas capensis), kori bustard (Ardeotis kori), blue-billed teal (Spatula hottentota), martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus), red-knobbed coot, (Fulica cristata), secretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius), spoonbills, and white-faced whistling duck (Dendrocygna viduata). The birds migrate from Etosha, in the border state of Namibia. Greater flamingos feed on brine shrimps (Artemia), worms and tiny crustaceans, while the lesser flamingos feed on algae; all are plentiful in the warm shallow waters of salt pans.

Other fauna Other wildlife faunal species reported are: the antelope, hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus), kudu (Tragelaphus imberbis), reedbuck (Redunca arundinum), springbok, steenbok (Raphicerus campestris), springhare (Pedetes capensis), jackals, foxes, monkeys, squirrels, eland (Taurotragus oryx), gemsbok (Oryx gazella) and zebra.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nata Bird Sanctuary

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nata Bird Sanctuary claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nata Bird Sanctuary before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nata Bird Sanctuary ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nata Bird Sanctuary

In research: Nata Bird Sanctuary appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nata Bird Sanctuary in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nata Bird Sanctuary is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bird sanctuaries, Protected areas established in 1993, Protected areas of Botswana, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nata Bird Sanctuary outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nata Bird Sanctuary in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nata Bird Sanctuary means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nata Bird Sanctuary out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nata Bird Sanctuary in simple terms?

Why does Nata Bird Sanctuary matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nata Bird Sanctuary?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nata Bird Sanctuary.