Manyelanong Game Reserve

Manyelanong Game Reserve in southeastern Botswana protects the country’s largest breeding colony of Cape vultures on the rocky cliffs above the Otse Hills, with access requiring a permit from Botswana’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks, available at low cost from the regional office near Lobatse. The reserve sits near the small town of Otse, approximately 60 kilometres south of Gaborone, and centres on a cliff face that supports around 70 breeding pairs of the endangered Cape vulture, making this small protected area one of the most significant vulture conservation sites in southern Africa. Visitors who arrange the necessary permit can observe the vultures at close range from viewing points above the colony, particularly during the breeding season from April through September.

The reserve is among Botswana’s smallest protected areas, covering a few square kilometres of rocky hillside terrain, but its conservation importance is disproportionate to its size. The Cape vulture population at Manyelanong represents the core of the species’ presence in Botswana, and the protected status of the nesting cliffs has enabled the colony to persist in a landscape otherwise dominated by agriculture and small settlements. The Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks manages access to protect the colony from disturbance, particularly during the sensitive nesting period, and entry without permission is not permitted.

Cape Vultures: The Otse Colony

The Cape vulture (Gyps coprotheres) is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, with declining populations across much of its southern African range due to poisoning, power line collisions, disturbance at nesting sites, and the decline of large mammal carcasses that sustain the species. The Manyelanong colony, sometimes referred to as the Otse Vulture Colony, holds approximately 70 breeding pairs and is the largest concentration of the species in Botswana. Cape vultures are large, pale-buffed raptors with a bare blue-grey neck and face, a distinctive ruff of white downy feathers at the base of the neck, and a wingspan reaching up to 2.5 metres.

At the colony, birds are visible throughout the year, but the most active period is the breeding season when pairs can be seen at nest ledges on the cliff face, with adults returning from foraging flights to feed large, dependent chicks. The colony has a social atmosphere, with birds calling, jostling, and gliding from the cliff edge in groups that spiral upward on the thermal air rising from the rocky hillside. Observing this behaviour from the viewing points above the cliff provides a rare opportunity to study vulture colony dynamics at close range.

Breeding Season and Best Viewing Conditions

Cape vultures at Manyelanong breed once per year, laying a single egg on a cliff ledge between April and June. Incubation takes approximately 54 days, with chicks hatching from June onward and fledging by November or December. The peak breeding activity from May through September, when both incubating adults and chicks with attentive parents are present at nest sites, provides the most rewarding viewing period. In October and November, recently fledged young birds can be observed on the cliff face, still dependent on adults and learning to fly.

Outside the breeding season, vultures use the cliffs as a roost and return each evening from foraging flights covering large distances across the surrounding agricultural landscape. Botswana’s cattle farming areas to the south and east provide the carcasses that sustain the colony, and birds have been tracked foraging up to 200 kilometres from the nesting cliffs. Morning hours from 07:00 to 09:00, when birds are departing from the roost on thermals, are particularly active and provide good opportunities to observe the colony at flight.

Permit Process and Access to the Reserve

Access to Manyelanong Game Reserve requires advance permission from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Botswana. The nearest regional contact is through the Department’s office in Lobatse, approximately 20 kilometres south of Otse on the A2 highway. Permits are generally straightforward to obtain and are provided at a nominal administrative fee, though the process requires a visit or contact in advance of arrival rather than simply turning up at the reserve boundary. The Department of Wildlife and National Parks can be contacted through the Botswana government services portal or at the Lobatse regional office.

The reserve boundary is accessible on foot from Otse village, with the cliffs visible from the surrounding hillside paths. The viewing area above the colony is reached by a short walk from the reserve entrance, passing through dry bushveld vegetation typical of this part of eastern Botswana. A 4WD vehicle is not required for access, as the approach tracks are passable by standard vehicle in dry conditions. Visitors are asked to observe noise discipline near the viewing points to avoid disturbing nesting birds.

Wildlife of the Otse Hills Beyond Vultures

The rocky hillside habitat around the Otse Hills supports a range of smaller wildlife alongside the vulture colony. Verreaux’s eagle, also known as the black eagle, is a resident raptor of the rocky hill terrain and is occasionally seen hunting among the cliffs. Klipspringer antelope, adapted to rocky terrain and distinguishable by its compact build and unique ability to stand on the tips of its hooves on narrow rock ledges, is found on the boulder-strewn hillsides near the colony. Rock hyrax is abundant on the cliff outcrops and provides prey for smaller raptors and leopards that occasionally pass through the area.

Baboon troops are resident on the hillside and move through the area in the early morning and late afternoon. Steenbok and common duiker inhabit the dry bushveld surrounding the rocky hill area. The bird list beyond vultures includes augur buzzard, fiscal shrike, and various sunbird species in the scrubby vegetation of the hillside. The combination of rocky and scrubby habitats in a relatively undisturbed corner of the Lobatse district gives the reserve more ecological variety than its small size might suggest.

Conservation Context and Vulture Threats

The broader Cape vulture conservation picture in southern Africa is one of slow decline in the face of multiple pressures. Poisoning remains the most significant threat, both from carcasses deliberately laced with poison to kill predators in farming areas and from veterinary drugs such as diclofenac that are toxic to vultures when ingested through treated livestock carcasses. Power line electrocution and collision kills birds during foraging flights, and the reduction of large mammal populations in rural areas limits the food supply available to sustain colonies. The long breeding season and low reproductive rate of one chick per pair per year means that vulture populations are slow to recover from losses.

The Manyelanong colony’s continued survival depends on the protection of the nesting cliffs from disturbance and on the maintenance of livestock farming in the surrounding landscape that provides the food supply. Botswana’s Wildlife Division collaborates with vulture conservation organisations to monitor the colony annually and to investigate poisoning incidents when birds die. Visitors to the reserve contribute to the justification for maintaining the protected area and can report any observed threats to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

Cost Breakdown for Manyelanong Game Reserve

Best Time to Visit Manyelanong Game Reserve

Getting to Manyelanong Game Reserve from Gaborone

Manyelanong Game Reserve is reached from Gaborone by driving south on the A2 highway to Lobatse (approximately 70 kilometres, one hour), then following the road northeast toward Otse village, a further 15 to 20 kilometres. The Otse Hills and the reserve cliffs are visible from the road approaching the village. Shared minibus taxis from Gaborone run to Lobatse frequently throughout the day, and onward transport to Otse is available by local minibus or taxi from Lobatse. The journey from Gaborone can be completed as a day trip if an early departure is made to arrive at the colony during the morning activity period.

Botswana requires no visa for citizens of most Commonwealth countries, EU member states, the United States, and many other nationalities for stays up to 90 days. The Botswana pula (BWP) is the currency, with ATMs in Gaborone and Lobatse. Petrol and basic supplies are available in Lobatse. The reserve is most often visited as a half-day excursion combined with the return drive to Gaborone or onward travel south toward the South African border at Tlokweng or Ramatlabama.