Secrets of Chimanimani revealed in biodiversity surveys

Despite not boasting the fame of the Serengeti or Kruger National Park, Chimanimani, straddling the Mozambican and Zimbabwean border, is an area like no other. Diverse landscapes and unique plant and animal species coexist together in this comparatively unheralded region of southern Africa. Botanists hail Chimanimani as a plant hotspot, with previous studies of highland flora revealing exceptionally high levels of endemism, but rather less is known of Chimanimani’s animal and lowland plant communities; a scientific knowledge gap existed that needed to be filled. In response to this, in late 2018, Fauna & Flora International (FFI), along with scientists and students from a range of international partner organisations, spent two weeks conducting biodiversity surveys of two of Chimanimani’s lesser-studied areas.