Mountain Zebra cavort in the Cañon Park - 18.06.10
Great joy prevailed at the game count last weekend: it seems that there are around 470 mountain zebra in
Gondwana Cañon Park at the
Fish River Canyon at present. This is over 60 percent more than the estimate (290) after the previous count during Easter 2009.
Nature conservation experts and shareholders of Gondwana, Chris Brown and Jo Tagg, point out that the enormous increase cannot be explained by reproduction alone. They say that large numbers of mountain zebra moved across from the neighbouring Ai Ais / Richtersveld Transfrontier Park. The animals moved east, into Gondwana Cañon Park, due to low rainfalls during the 2009/2010 season. In addition the animals are easier to spot, because they seem to become more trusting and do not take flight at a large distance, as in the past. In the northern part of the park, which consists of preferred mountain zebra habitat and was only added in 2008, the previous owners used to hunt.
The number of mountain zebra in Gondwana Cañon Park has increased significantly
The other game species which were counted also showed pleasing increases: 600 oryx (compared to 540 last year) and 600 ostrich (490). Kudu remained stable at 700 animals. Only the number computed for springbok decreased – from 5,000 to 3,000. Chris Brown and Jo Tagg reckon that the relatively low rainfall during the 2009/2010 season plays a role in this case as well: since there is not so much grass left in the plains the springbok herds split into smaller groups and drift to the rocky areas - mountain valleys and the plateaus. It is much more difficult to spot them there during the count than on the plains. They also disburse off Gondwana land to neighbouring properties. One of the most important adaptations to arid areas for wildlife is mobility – the ability of animals to move to areas that have received better rainfall and to access water and grazing. For this reason, the Gondwana Parks work closely with their neighbours to establish open systems which allow for such movement. When animals move off Gondwana land onto the land of friendly neighbours this is seen as a measure of success of co-managed landscapes. The animals will return when the conditions are right.
For the species which were recently introduced and are still at relatively low numbers - red hartebeest, blue wildebeest and plains zebra - the counting method does not provide reliable data. According to observations made by park rangers, however, these species bred well, too. Currently there are about 110 red hartebeest, 70 blue wildebeest and 35 plains zebra in the park.
The game count in
Gondwana Cañon Park follows the same method every year so that results can be compared and trends can be established. It is the 'Fixed Route' method: counting is done on standard routes, from a vehicle, without binoculars, and apart from the number of animals their exact location and their distance from the route is recorded. Routes have been chosen in such a manner that the park’s different habitats are covered – such as sandy and gravel plains, river courses, rocky hilltops and inselbergs.
Blue wildebeest on the plains of Gondwana Cañon Park at the Fish River Canyon
From the data collected the total number of each species is calculated by computer for the entire park. Since small animals (e.g. steenbok) are more difficult to spot than larger ones (e.g. oryx), these projections are computed with correction factors for each species. The total area of each habitat and the total length of the routes through each habitat are taken into consideration as well. In this way a population estimate for certain wildlife species is obtained even though the entire park is not covered by the count.
Gondwana Cañon Park covers an area of 126,000 ha (1,260 km²). Most of its borders with adjoining farmland in the north, east and south are fenced in – mainly to avoid conflicts over predators with neighbouring small-stock farmers. In the west, however, where it borders the Ai Ais / Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, the fence is open in many places. Rainfall is very low in the Nama Karoo Desert on the south-western fringe of the summer rain area: the annual average is about 80 mm and fluctuations from one year to the next are considerable. This means that availability of food resources for game changes accordingly. Sustainable management of the park therefore includes seeing to it that fauna and flora are in balance.
Gondwana operates a scientifically sound game management programme in order to increase the diversity of species and restore nature’s original state as far as possible. Red hartebeest (2006), Burchell's zebra (2006) and blue wildebeest (2008) have been released in
Gondwana Cañon Park. Four black rhino followed in April 2009 as part of the Custodianship Programme run by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. Giraffe will be added in March 2011. All of these species used to occur in this area; many of them were hunted to extinction or driven away by human activities during the past 200 years.