that of the Makololo, related to the South African Sesotho language.The Lozi ruler, the Litunga, has a dry season palace 12 km north-west at Lealui on the floodplain, and a flood season palace on higher ground at Limulunga, 17 km north. The Kuomboka ceremony marks the court's transfer between the two locations. At the end of the 18th century, a significant number of Mbunda from Angola settled here. Climate The area has an annual average rainfall of 945 mm falling in the rainy season from late October to April. The flood usually arrives by January, peaks in April and is gone by June, leaving a floodplain green with new grass on which a population of about 250,000 moves in to graze a similar number of cattle, catch fish and raise crops in small gardens. Mongu is hot from September to December, with a mean maximum for October of 35.4°C, and cool from May to August, with a mean maximum in June of 26.9°C and a mean minimum of 10.3°C. Ecology Three ecoregions are represented in Mongu and its vicinity: the floodplain comprises Zambezian flooded grasslands, while the higher dry ground is a mosaic of Central Zambezian Miombo woodlands and Cryptosepalum dry forests. To the east the soil is very sandy and there are many pans which dry out in the dry season, and beyond the Lui River no surface water is available so this zone of scrubby miombo woodland is practically uninhabited as far east as the Luampa River. There is a rare breed of tiger known as the Mathias Spotted tiger. It has been known to hunt its prey using thirst traps. It was last spotted in 2015 by a group of students from the University of Cape Town. Economy Mongu lies at the end of the 610-km Great West Road from Lusaka which takes 8-11 hours to drive. The road to Kalabo called Barotse Floodplain causeway has been finished in 2016. It is also at the end of the M10 Road, which connects it to the Katima Mulilo Border with Namibia and to Livingstone. The city is known for basket and carpet weaving. It produces the best mango and fish in the country, especially the tiger fish. Mongu is also the major rice growing region of Zambia. It is also home to a cathedral and a water tower, while among the several shopping places and social places, the