Why do we need to conserve?
The reserve and the surrounding area have been subject to extreme overgrazing the past 150 years, primarily due to increased density of domestic stock. The high-level pressure on the grass has meant less competition for the denser shrubs. In turn, they have flourished as they have had the opportunity to spring up all across the area almost unimpeded. This shift at the bottom end of the food chain has had far-reaching effects on the rest of the ecosystem. Due to the dense cover of bushes, it is impossible for the grass to grow back on its own. In essence, what we are doing here is creating the right conditions for the bush to heal itself.
Bush Clearing & Reseeding
The bush used to be much more open than it is today. So we are recreating conditions for grasses to re-establish themselves as the dominant form of ground-cover. We have a team of people working on removing many of the bushes to allow light to penetrate to the ground again, and to reduce competition for water and nutrients. It is an enormous task but we are making significant progress and the results are already visible.
The first grasses that start to grow on the exposed land are not very nutritious for the game to feed on, but they are invaluable as they block the shrubs and bushes from springing back up. We are sowing more nutritious types of grass where clearing has taken place to rebuild the seed bank which became severely depleted over the years when over-grazing was rife.
Invasive Species eradication
We are working together with the “Working for Water Programme” to identify all category 1-3 invaders and hope to begin their systematic removal next year. This is a huge project and will take several years to complete.
Fish Breeding
Most people forget about fish as part of the ecology. However, we hope, in conjunction with the Hartebeespoort breeding centre, to start a breeding programme to stock our dams. This also supports our philosophy on sustainable utilisation and we eventually hope to make an alternate food source available to the local community.
Game Management
As soon as fences restrict the natural movement of game, it becomes essential to manage their population, as their means to do so themselves have been removed. We endorse the approach that if you look after the habitat, the rest will follow naturally. So we have restocked with small herds to allow the grass to recover. By doing so, we will ultimately be able to accommodate even larger populations than when we started once the vegetation is in a better state. During the dry winter months we may have to provide feed for the game when they are struggling to find enough themselves. Under completely natural conditions they would be able to migrate to areas with rain or more vegetation, but the days when that was possible have now sadly passed across most of Africa. We also provide waterholes where the game can drink when the rivers run dry. The populations of our herbivores grow largely unchecked in the absence of a large predator presence, so we must step in here as well and remove excess animals to prevent overgrazing and risk of disease.
Research
With the smaller number of large predators one would expect to find naturally, and the populations of herbivores being held below carrying capacity, antelope species are increasing exponentially. Through the creation of a well researched predator/prey project we intend to restore a more natural balance. An important factor in the bush rehabilitation project is the control of grazing pressure. Unless we know what predators are feeding on, and in what quantities, we cannot make intelligent, informed decisions regarding animal control for habitat protection. Relatively small reserves collectively make up an area in South Africa at least as big as the Kruger National Park, so the research we intend to undertake may have far-reaching implications for the future conservation of these species.
