Flora

The open grassland that covers the pans consists of many palatable 'sweet' grasses (eg: Themeda species), which sustain the large herd of grazers that invade the area in summer. These grasslands are studded with 'islands' of acacias, consisting mostly of candle-pod acacia (Acacia hebeclada). This is easily recognised from around October to March, as its seedpods stand upright, like candles. Other very common species here are the umbrella thorn (Acacia tortilis) and bastard umbrella thorn (Acacia leuderitzii).

During the rains, the pans sprout a profusion of wildflowers, including the spectacular brunsvigia lily (Brunsvigia radulosa), which brings a splash of red to the summer landscape.

Around and between the pans the vegetation differs according to soil type. Acacias are the dominant trees on sandy soils, with stands of silver clusterleaf (Terminalia sericea), and – particularly in disturbed areas – dense thickets of sickle bush, Dichrostachys cineria. Mopane (Colophospermum mopane) dominates the richer clayey soils to the north and east, carpeting the dusty ground with its golden butterfly leaves and bursting into a flush of green with the rains. Elsewhere, mixed sand and clay support various combretum species, with their wind-borne winged pods, while a richer selection of shrubs thrive on the lime-rich calcrete ridges, including the trumpet thorn (Catophractes alexandrii), Western rhigozum (Rhigozum brevispinosum) and purple-pod terminalia (Terminalia prunoides). Visit South Camp to see some fine examples of these.

Of all the area's trees, the best-known must be the great baobabs (Adansonia digitatai). In particular the famous Baines' Baobabs that overlook Kudiakam Pan, which were painted by the renowned Victorian explorer and artist Thomas Baines on May 22 1862, and have changed little in 140 years since. They are not the only baobabs around, but they're certainly the most celebrated.

Mammals

From December to April, Nxai Pan is a breeding ground for large herbivores. Game viewing can be spectacular at the start of this season, when thousands of animals are dropping their young and predators are drawn to the easy pickings. After good rains the lush green grasslands teem with huge concentrations of Burchell's zebra, blue wildebeest and springbok (here at the northeastern limit of their range), while healthy numbers of other grazers include gemsbok, eland and red hartebeest.

Large giraffe herds, sometimes over 40 strong, move across the pans between the acacia 'islands', which they prune into characteristic hourglass shapes. The mopane woodland, mainly to the north of Nxai Pan, shelters browsers such as impala and kudu, which often venture out onto the pans for the permanent waterholes and rich mineral salts. The impala is a versatile species, being able to adapt its diet to graze or browse, according to what is on offer, and Nxai Pan is one of the few areas where impala and springbok occur side by side – their habitats elsewhere generally being mutually exclusive.

In summer, small herds of breeding elephant can sometimes be seen around Kgama-Kgama Pan in the northeast of the park, while lone bulls disperse across the area at other times – generally on the fringes of the mopane. Other visitors from the north include the occasional tsessebe, at about the southern limit of their appearance in the Kalahari. In winter the great herds disperse from the pans, leaving few grazers except the hardy springbok, and a few timid steenbok that find shelter in the thickets.

Predators are well represented on Nxai Pan. Lion can be heard throughout the year: in summer they follow the zebra and wildebeest herds; during the dry season they remain to hunt springbok around the few permanent waterholes. The springbok herds also draw cheetah – Nxai Pan offers perfect open terrain for this coursing predator, and has a good reputation for sightings. Meanwhile wandering packs of wild dog occasionally turn up in pursuit of the same quarry.

Spotted hyena can sometimes be heard at night, especially when there are large concentrations of game around, while the more elusive brown hyena hunts and scavenges for smaller prey items around the pans. Black-backed jackal and honey badger are both versatile smaller predators that occur throughout the area – the latter sometimes foraging in association with the pale-chanting goshawk.

Aardwolf and bat-eared fox snap up harvester termites on the open grasslands: the former is strictly nocturnal and seldom seen; the latter may still be about at sunrise, foraging in loose family groups with ears cocked to the ground for termite rustlings.

African wildcat and small-spotted genet hunt the acacia bush after dark for small rodents and roosting birds, while by day yellow mongoose comb open sandy areas for scorpions, slender mongoose hunt the acacia scrub, alone or in pairs, and banded mongoose rummage through the woodland in large, sociable colonies.

Other smaller mammals found here include lesser bushbaby, aardvark and porcupine, with spring hare on the grassland and scrub hare in the woodland. By day, tree squirrels are common and noisy inhabitants of the mopane.