Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park is an UNESCO
World Heritage site that is home to one half of the Mosi-oa-Tunya - 'The Smoke Which Thunders' - known worldwide as Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River. The river forms the border between
Zambia and
Zimbabwe, so the falls are shared by the two countries, and the park is 'twin' to the
Victoria Falls National Park on the Zimbabwean side. ‘Mosi-oa-Tunya’ comes from the Kololo or Lozi language and the name is now used throughout Zambia, and in parts of Zimbabwe. Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park covers 66 km2 (25 sq mi) from the Songwe Gorge below the falls in a north-west arc along about 20 km of the Zambian river bank. It froms the south-western boundary of the city of Livingstone and has two main sections, each with separate entrances: The wildlife park includes tall riverine forest with palm trees, miombo woodland and grassland with plenty of birds, and animals including giraffe, zebra, warthog, sable, eland, buffalo, impala and other antelope. Animal numbers fell in droughts over the last two decades. The park contained two white rhino which are not indigenous and were imported from
South Africa - they were both poached during the night of June 6, 2007. The Falls section of the national park includes the rainforest on the cliff opposite the Eastern Cataract which is sustained by spray from the falls. It contains plants rare for the area such as pod mahogany, ebony, ivory palm, wild date palm and a number of creepers and lianas. Small antelopes and warthogs inhabit this area, and may also be seen in on the paths through the riverine forest leading to the falls.
