SAVING THE BONTEBOK
A colourful conservation success story
[ZZZ_Photo03-1]
"Very nice scones, fabulous strawberry jam," grinned the lady next to me as I watched her scoop up another dollop of cream. We’d just come back to the restaurant after a highly entertaining walk with conservationist Gerald Wright to learn more about Vergelegen’s Bontebok Conservation Project. "I just can't believe how beautiful the baby bontebok was," she continued in delight. "And they all looked so peaceful, not skittish at all,” another guest added. "They know they won’t be the next meal."
There’s every reason to marvel at the Bontebok: they’re not only exquisite, but also the living proof that, with the right attitude, threatened extinction can be reversed to steady growth. Today's global bontebok population is approximately 3500, but in the early 1800s there were only 17 left due to overhunting and extensive killing as pests. Fortunately there were people like the van der Byl, van Breda and Albertyn families who, at the time, set aside portions of their properties in the Western Cape to form a temporary reserve for the Bontebok. And this is how we now have the incredible privilege of enjoying the beauty of this exquisite chocolate-brown antelope withit's white underbelly, a white stripe from the forehead to the tip of the nose, and a distinctive white patch around its tail.
The very first Bontebok National Park was proclaimed in 1931, but was originally situated in the Bredasdorp region. The Swellendam area, however, proved to be a more suitable habitat for the Bontebok and to give conservation its best shot, it was decided to translocate the fragile herd and createthe new conservation areathat we know today. It turned out to be a good move to the extent that many re-introduced Bontebok populations to other protected areas originate from these herds. This is necessaryas the Park can only support a maximum of 250 Bontebok and must translocate surplus animals to maintain balanced biodiversity conservation.
Today, Vergelegen Estate is home to 30 splendid bontebok (colourful buck) who share their protected territory with a herd of 130 indigenous Nguni cattle. When Gerald Wright and Dr Elzette Jordan, City of Cape Town veterinary, realised that the adjacent Helderberg Nature Reserve offered insufficient grazing to its growing bontebok population, the first ‘Vergelegen’ bontebok were relocated to Vergelegen Estate. "We started noticing mineral deficiencies and knew something had to be done,” Gerald explained. Don Tooth, Vergelegen’s MD, was immediately keen to adopt some bontebok (who continue to belong to the City) and add some ‘local colour’ to The Estate.” This is how, four years later, the 10 bontebok that were translocated to Vergelegen have now formed a new population of 30 healthy individuals. "At the time we treated them for ecto-parasites and gave them copper and zinc supplements to give them a boost. Ever since they have thrived,” Gerald said. As we walk towards one of the herds, there is no doubt that they are indeed thriving. How could they not, safely roaming bountiful pastures and vast indigenous fynbos territory?
To improve management of these antelopes, and consequently their conservation status, pioneering social studies on bontebok are being done at Vergelegen Estate as well as the Helderberg and Tygerberg Nature Reserves. As part of a 5-year programme, Dr Anja Wasilewski of Marburg University in Germany travels annually to South Africa to gain a better understanding of the bontebok’s complex social systems, and in so-doing, enable game wardens to further enhance the herds’ welfare. She mainly researches social bonds, relationships, scent communication and use of space. So far she has dedicated 2100 hours of her time to the project, with another 3100 hours from her students. "She has taken meticulous ID photographs showing each animal’s characteristics such as horn shape and size, blaze type and scars,” said Gerald. "I can confidentely say that Dr Wasilewski recognises the animals from every possible perspective! Even more so, she knows intimately all youngsters born since 2005.”
Dr Wasilewski and Gerald Wright’s passion for the bontebok is contagious. Don Tooth and the entire Vergelegen staff are mesmerized by these exquisite resident antelopes, to the extent that nurturing instincts sometimes get the better of the ladies on The Estate. "I couldn’t help it,” says Cynthia. "That little baby bontebok was just lying there all alone in the cold, basically at my doorstep, so I took it in. I placed it near the heater in the lounge and stayed by its side. My dog wasn’t impressed with my rescue operation. Fortunately the mother re-appeared out of nowhere the next day and took her little calf back to the herd. I felt truly blessed to be given a chance to nurture a baby bontebok first-hand.”
As Gerald guided us to the restaurant we remained in awe of the beautiful settings in which these bontebok thrive. The mist started clearing and the mountains assumed their natural splendour. An enviro-walk with Gerald is a delight. It’s actually quite entertaining and although he’s very knowledgeable, you never feel you're being lectured. "You’re absolutely right,” agreed the lady with the cream and strawberry scones. "He’s such a great storyteller." I finally decided to no longer resist the temptation of the scones and help myself to a generous dollop of cream. The lady next to me looked at me with a grin. Ah, it appears that we don’t only share a interest in bontebok, but also in scones with lekker homemade strawberry jam and cream...
The Editor
DID YOU KNOW
