Kasanka National Park

Kasanka National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Location	Central Province, Zambia
Nearest city	Serenje, Zambia
Coordinates	12°34′S 30°11′E / 12.567°S 30.183°E / -12.567; 30.183Coordinates: 12°34′S 30°11′E / 12.567°S 30.183°E / -12.567; 30.183
Area	390 km2 (150 sq mi)
Governing body	Zambia Wildlife Authority

Kasanka National Park is a park located in the Serenje District of Zambia’s Central Province. At roughly 390 km² (150 sq mi), Kasanka is one of Zambia’s smallest national parks. Kasanka was the first of Zambia’s national parks to be privately managed. The privately funded Kasanka Trust Ltd has been in operation since 1986 and undertakes all management responsibilities, in partnership with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW - previously ZAWA). The park has an average elevation between 1,160 m (3,810 ft) and 1,290 m (4,230 ft) above mean sea level. It has a number permanent shallow lakes and water bodies with the largest being Wasa. There are five perennial rivers in the park, with the largest being the Luwombwa River. The Luwombwa is the only river that drains the NP, which flows out in the northwestern corner. It is a tributary of the Luapula, which further upstream also drains the Bangweulu Swamp and forms the main source of the Congo River. Although Kasanka NP is part of the Greater Bangweulu Ecosystem, there is no direct hydrological connection between the park and the Bangweulu Wetlands.

A total of 114 mammal species have been recorded in the park including Elephant, Hippopotamus and Sitatunga. A number of species have been reintroduced in the park by Kasanka Trust - the most successful of which are Zebra and Buffalo. Close to ten million Eidolon helvum (African fruit bat) migrate to the Mushitu swamp evergreen forest in the park for three months during October to December, making it the largest mammal migration in the world. Over 471 bird species have been identified in the park.

Kasanka has a varying altitude of 1,160 m (3,810 ft) and 1,290 m (4,230 ft) above mean sea level. The park is located in the Zambia in Serenje District of Zambia. While most sources quote the area of the park to be around 390 km² (150 sq mi), others record the area close to 450 km² (170 sq mi), making it one of the smaller national parks in the country. It has a relatively flat topography with few noteworthy relief features, with the exception of the Mambilima Falls located close to the Mulaushi Conservation Centre and the rocky Mpululwe and Bwalya Bemba hills. Nine permanent lakes are found in the park and it is dissected by a network of rivers and streams. The larger rivers are the Luwombwa, Mulembo, Kasanka, Mulaushi and the swampy Musola River. The river streams and the lagoons have reed and papyrus beds. All of these rivers eventually shed their water via one another into the Luapula River, the only drainage outlet for the Bangweulu basin, and a major tributary of the Congo River.