Zambezi Region with the United Kingdom. Leo von Caprivi arranged for the Caprivi strip to be annexed to German South West Africa in order to give Germany access to the Zambezi River as part of the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty. The German motivation behind the swap was to acquire a strip of land linking German South West Africa with the Zambezi River, providing easy access to Tanganyika (Tanzania) and an outlet to the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately for the Germans, the British colonisation of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe and Zambia) stopped them well upstream of Victoria Falls, which proved a considerable barrier to navigation on the Zambezi.
Zambezi eagle present in large numbers. Riverine woodland also supports many large animals, such as buffalo, zebras, giraffes, elephants. The Zambezi also supports several hundred species of fish, some of which are endemic to the river. Important species include cichlids which are fished heavily for food, as well as catfish, tigerfish, yellowfish and other large species. The bull shark is sometimes known as the Zambezi shark after the river, but is found around the world. Upper Zambezi: 507,200 km, discharges 1044 m/s at Victoria Falls, comprising: ""'Middle Zambezi cumulatively 1,050,000 km, 2442 m/s, measured at Cahora Bassa Gorge ""'Lower Zambezi cumulatively,