Game Reserve - Flower Season is here

BWI


	We have partnered with CapeNature and proclaimed our Renosterveld remnants as a Voluntary Conservation Site with their Stewardship program and pledged to manage the veld in accordance to their conservation laws and ethics. Since 2006, we’ve been reintroducing locally indigenous wildlife into the game camp on the farm, which includes Eland, the endangered Bontebok, Burchells zebra, Red Hartebees, Gemsbok and Springbok. Animals which were already there includes Grey Rhebuck, Grysbok, Duiker, Steenbok and several smaller predators such as Caracal, African wild cat, the elusive Cape fox, bat-eared fox, yellow mongoose, striped polecat and Cape clawless otter. Also occurring naturally is a variety of birds, reptiles and amphibians which are now also protected from persecution. Some of the endangered or protected species include blue cranes, black eagles, black harriers and three tortoise species (i.e. Angulate tortoise, Parrot-beaked tortoise and the critically endangered geometric tortoise).

Biodiversity

Flower Season is here

Aug18

Written by:Conservation Officer
8/18/2010 4:53 PM

Over the past few weeks many of the top botanists of the Fynbos region have set their sights on Burgherspost Nature Reserve. This was not because of the spectacular show of daisies and rare bulbs as we usually have, but because of the new populations of critically endangered species discovered in the reserve in the past few weeks. A species is only classified as critically endangered when strong evidence points towards the species declining to such a degree that the likelihood of it going extinct in the wild is very high. Two species in particular have had the botanists all excited: Babiana leipoldtii and Babiana pygmaea.

Babiana leipoldtii 'Leipoldt se bobbejaantjie' is known in only seven locations around Darling and nowhere else in the world. All seven sites have highly fragmented, tiny populations are under threat from encroachment by alien trees (Port Jacksons) and grasses (Cynodon dactylon 'kweek'). These little specialist bulbs grow in seasonally wet marshlands in low densities and flower for a brief few days from early to mid-August. Last year only three individuals where counted on the reserve, but the early warm weather and intensive alien clearing program saw nearly 150 bulbs flowering in a tiny 2 ha area.

Babiana pygmaea 'geelbobbejaantjie' is even more rare than B. leipoldtii, previously known in only two locations, and on the brink of extinction. The locations are kept secret from the public, fearing illegal collecting of the very few remaining individuals by specialist collectors. Three individual plants where discovered in an area recently cleared of Port Jacksons and upon further investigation another site with at least 50 adult plants was discovered only a few meters away.

Another 'special' to be on the lookout for in the Reserve is Gladiolus watsonius 'rooipype' flowering here and there in the critically endangered Renosterveld areas. Right at the top of Dassenberg mountain, growing between the rocks is Lachenalia aloides 'vierkleurtjie' - an amazingly beautiful little bulb highly specialised in its habitat preference.

To come and see these amazing flowers for yourself, book a wildflower game drive at Cloof or e-mail your details and dates to nature@cloof.co.za. The drive lasts for about 2 hours and costs R150 per person (minimum two people and no drives on Sundays).

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