Editing Limpopo River (section)

== History ==
[[Vasco da Gama]], on his first expedition, was probably among the first Europeans to sight the river, when he anchored off the mouth in 1498. However, there has been human habitation in the region since time immemorial—sites in the Makapans Valley near [[Mokopane]] contain [[Australopithecus]] fossils from 3.5 million years ago. [[St Vincent Whitshed Erskine]], later surveyor general for South Africa, traveled to the mouth of the river in 1868–69.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Erskine|first=Vincent W.|date=1869|title=Journey of Exploration to the Mouth of the River Limpopo|jstor=1798552|journal=The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London|volume=39|pages=233–276|doi=10.2307/1798552}}</ref>

A [[Bull shark|Zambezi shark]] was caught hundreds of kilometres upriver at the confluence of the Limpopo and Luvuvhu Rivers in July 1950. Zambezi sharks tolerate fresh water and can travel far up the Limpopo.<ref>Pienaar, U. de V., ''The Freshwater Fishes of the [[Kruger National Park]]'', Koedoe Vol 11, No 1 (1968)</ref> In 2013, approximately 15,000 [[Nile crocodile]]s were accidentally released into the river from flood gates at the nearby Rakwena Crocodile Farm.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=25 January 2013 |title=South Africa police join hunt for 10,000 escaped crocodiles |website=reuters.com |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-crocodiles-idUSBRE90N0OT20130125 |url-status=live |access-date=5 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117032739/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/25/us-safrica-crocodiles-idUSBRE90N0OT20130125 |archive-date=17 November 2015}}</ref>