Latest news with #EzemveloKZNWildlife
The Citizen
a day ago
- General
- The Citizen
Top bird sightings in St Lucia: Autumn brings rare and exciting species to the region
Top bird sightings in St Lucia: Autumn brings rare and exciting species to the region Wam, dry, sunny autumnal days provided some excellent bird sightings in and around St Lucia during May, with the full complement of winter visitors to the region. This is according to St Lucia bird guide Ian Ferreira, who noted that, while the tar road to Cape Vidal was once again usable for sedans after much flooding earlier in the year, a large herd of elephant was responsible for some major traffic jams. ALSO READ: Return of endangered birds to KZN's north coast an 'ecological barometer' for conservation 'Flooded areas have dried and it is possible to reach Cape Vidal in a sedan car once again. 'The Pan and Vlei loops on the Eastern Shores, and uMphate and uMdoni loops on the Western shores, however, are still not passable owing to deep sections of water over the road,' said Ferreira on his birding blog. Bird sightings enjoyed by Ferreira and his guests last month include the winter visitors: white-starred robin, chorister robin chat, spotted ground thrush, black cuckooshrike and olive bush shrike, as well as the many forest residents, including Narina trogon, green malkoha, Rudd's apalis, Woodward's batis, black-throated wattle-eye, eastern nicator, gorgeous bush shrike, green twinspot, grey waxbill and Livingstone's turaco. 'The Narina trogon have – quite strangely – been very vocal in the forest this month. 'Very unusual to hear them calling this time of year as they usually call only during the spring and summer breeding months,' noted Ferreira. ALSO READ: Hope for the blue swallow: Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife announces new sanctuary for endangered species He said much of the forest action is centred around the fruiting Natal fig trees, attracting 'noisy flocks of over 30 trumpeter hornbill' at times, as well as other species. In the wetlands, African pygmy goose are becoming more abundant, while other notable sightings include red- and blue-billed teal, white-backed duck, common squacco heron, black crake, and rufous-bellied heron on the Eastern Shores. The mangrove kingfisher has been spotted at the St Lucia estuary, as well as a variety of species of tern and other coastal varieties. The palm-nut vulture has put in a few appearances on the beach, while the rare and endangered southern-banded snake eagle has been seen on the Eastern Shores. An unusual and special sighting recorded by Ferreira on the Eastern Shores last month was the African cuckoo-finch. Source: Don't have the ZO app? Download it to your Android or Apple device here: HAVE YOUR SAY Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. For news straight to your phone invite us: WhatsApp – 060 784 2695 Instagram – zululand_observer At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Daily Maverick
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Parliament pushes for urgent action on Mawana's roaming elephant herd
In a heated and emotionally charged session of the South African Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Environment this week, community members from KwaZulu-Natal's Ulundi region described the ongoing crisis caused by a herd of roaming elephants from the privately owned Mawana Game Reserve. The session culminated in a set of urgent resolutions, including a mandated follow-up meeting among key stakeholders and a formal report due to Parliament by 7 July 2025. The issue was described as having escalated into a human-wildlife conflict, with reports of injuries, crop destruction, school disruptions and mounting community frustration over years of perceived government inaction. At the centre is a population of more than 30 elephants — possibly over 50, according to some estimates — which have repeatedly escaped from Mawana's deteriorated fencing and encroached into communal lands. Unsafe environment Community representative Xolani Msimango, a state advocate speaking in his personal capacity, described harrowing incidents that have taken place over several years. He recounted how villagers foraging in the forest had been chased by the elephants and told the story of Mr Buthelezi, a local villager, who was severely trampled in March 2024 and lay injured in the bush overnight before being rescued. Msimango accused the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, KZN Wildlife and a conservation NGO of systemic failure. He stated that repeated attempts to seek help were met with silence or circular referrals. 'We feel that the government through its organs is failing us,' he told the committee. 'The environment we live in is not safe.' He also alleged that a private individual, Grant Fowlds, has exploited the situation to expand his Loziba Game Reserve. According to Msimango, Fowlds was neither an owner of the land he wished to expand into nor welcomed by local communities, yet had interfered with elephant monitoring efforts and was raising funding for conservation from international sources while neglecting local safety. 'We have no idea who controls this process, but he is the one who is creating the problems.' He said the community had made it clear to Fowlds that there was no land available to him to expand his reserve. 'Now he is saying the elephants are in danger of being killed by the community. He is using elephants to (solicit) millions from overseas countries.' Wildlife agency responses In response, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife acknowledged the seriousness of the crisis, but defended their handling of the matter, pointing to legal complexities and ongoing infrastructural work. Vuyiswa Radebe, the Executive Manager of Biodiversity Conservation Operations at Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, explained that because the elephants were res nullius (without a legal owner), the state had taken responsibility for their management. He said that nine elephants were destroyed in August 2024 under the province's standing permit to deal with damage-causing animals — a controversial move that sparked a national backlash. He insisted lethal force was a last resort following failed attempts to corral or translocate the animals. As a non-lethal intervention, a temporary 8,300-hectare emergency enclosure was being constructed by removing internal fences between private properties. According to Radebe, only six kilometres of fencing remained to be completed. However, Msimango denied these claims, saying the fenced area included up to 20 homesteads and that community members had already chased construction teams away due to lack of consultation. Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Deputy Minister Maggie Sotyu acknowledged these tensions and promised that 'the department will be hands-on on this', proposing daily briefings on the matter and a potential in-person visit to the community. The department also committed to funding additional monitors to track elephant movements and to complete the emergency fence by the end of June. Calls for clarity Despite these promises, members of the portfolio committee expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of coordination, transparency and coherent data. Honourable Dave Bryant (DA) questioned whether all non-lethal options had truly been exhausted, citing the existence of national elephant management strategies that emphasised coexistence. He also flagged the absence of precise data on elephant numbers, asking why an application to collar more elephants, submitted in December 2024, had not yet been processed. The Loziba development plan. (Source: Loziba Wildlife Reserve) He and other MPs demanded clarity on the role of Fowlds and whether he legally owned any land in the area. They also queried why a private game reserve's failure had been allowed to burden public institutions and terrorise communities, and why earlier compliance notices had not led to prosecution or decisive action. Brent Corcoran, speaking for KZN Wildlife, admitted that the enforcement process had been severely delayed due to legal uncertainties following the death of the original owner, Kerneels van der Walt, in 2017 and neglect on the reserve that followed. The estate took years to resolve and only recently did the elephants become legally ownerless. Attempts to issue compliance notices were met with appeals, and internal confusion over the status of the elephants further stalled enforcement. The road ahead After several hours of debate, the Portfolio Committee reached several conclusions: The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ezemvelo, the Mawana Family Trust, Fowlds and representatives from the affected community must convene before the end of June. The department must submit a written report to Parliament by 7 July 2025 detailing the progress of the meeting, the status of fencing and the management plan for the elephants. The deputy minister is to take personal responsibility for overseeing developments, with daily briefings from officials. Several MPs called for a site inspection by the portfolio committee to verify claims, assess risks, and consult broadly with residents, not just one representative. Parliament wants full clarity on land ownership, the legal authority of Fowlds and whether the fencing efforts are legally viable. Any future destruction of elephants must be fully justified with records showing that all alternatives had been exhausted, in line with national elephant norms and standards. Don's view The situation at Mawana is not simply an environmental issue — it's a collision of land rights, conservation ethics, legal ambiguity and rural safety. It shows the frayed edges of a system where private reserves, conservation NGOs and under-resourced communities are bound together in uneasy coexistence. As Parliament steps in to untangle this saga, its outcome could set a precedent for how South Africa balances wildlife conservation with human security in a rapidly shifting landscape. For the community in Ulundi, however, the crisis remains urgent and unresolved: 'There will be no fencing that will be up by the end of June,' warned Msimango. 'There will be no elephant that will be secured at any time soon.' DM
eNCA
15-05-2025
- eNCA
Exploring the wild heart of KZN
Durban beachfront DURBAN - As the final curtain falls on the Africa Travel Indaba, the journey doesn't end here at least not for the continent's tourist sector. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is introducing a new route that connects the Indian Ocean coastline of St Lucia- iSimangaliso Wetland Park with the wild bush landscape of Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park. It's set to be a complete Beach to Bush experience.
The Citizen
12-05-2025
- The Citizen
Locals encouraged to explore KZN
To commemorate African Heritage Month and promote domestic travel, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife hosted a Beach to Bush excursion. The three-day tour was held at the second-oldest park in the world, Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park (HIP). Guests enjoyed a game drive, a visit to the museum, and a boat cruise at the Isimangaliso Wetland Park. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife's marketing and sales manager, Siphelele Luthuli, said the initiative showcased KZN as a must-visit destination for local and international travellers. 'HIP is one of our parks with a rich history, and we want to emphasise the importance of travelling to locals – especially as we celebrate Africa Month. We are hosting the international Africa's Travel Indaba in Durban now,' said Luthuli. Don't have the ZO app? Download it to your Android or Apple device here: HAVE YOUR SAY Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. For news straight to your phone invite us: WhatsApp – 060 784 2695 Instagram – zululand_observer At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Daily Maverick
07-05-2025
- Science
- Daily Maverick
KZN conservation — saving at least two ‘birds' with one stone
The future looks brighter today for two critically endangered flying creatures in South Africa, thanks to the establishment of a new grassland reserve in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains. A small but vital patch of high-altitude grassland has been officially set aside as a protected area near the town of Impendle, west of Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal, to conserve the living space of a small insect-eating bird and an equally rare butterfly species. This comes at a time when nearly half of all bird species in the world are in decline, with more than one in eight at risk of extinction. The new iNkonjane Nature Reserve, covering just 180 hectares of land, is named after the isiZulu word for the Blue Swallow (inkonjanesibhakabhaka), immediately adjacent to the larger Impendle Nature Reserve (8,759ha). The reserve has been established by the provincial conservation agency Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, to provide another desperately needed sanctuary area for these swallows. Ezemvelo notes that the two reserves host four (13%) of the country's estimated 30 remaining breeding pairs of Blue Swallows, so the protection afforded by the new reserve 'marks a meaningful step towards ensuring the survival of this graceful aerial insectivore'. The iNkonjane reserve has the added benefit of protecting a second critically endangered species – Pennington's Protea Butterfly (Capys penningtoni), a highly range-restricted species found only in the greater Mkhomazi River valley. This is now the third reserve in KwaZulu-Natal established specifically for the protection of threatened butterfly species. The other two reserves managed by Ezemvelo are the uMvemvane Nature Reserve and Wahroonga Farm. The butterfly's survival hinges on the presence of the common sugarbush protea (Protea caffra), the only plant on which the females lay their eggs. The caterpillars develop and pupate inside the buds, emerging nearly a year later. Dr Musa Zondi, the provincial MEC for environmental affairs, said the new reserve also conserved valuable portions of Southern KwaZulu-Natal Moist Grassland and patches of Eastern Mistbelt Forest, both of which are under mounting pressure from commercial timber farms, agriculture and other development. A further spin-off benefit is that this newly protected grassland habitat is also suitable for several other threatened species, including the Endangered oribi antelope, Endangered mountain reedbuck and Near Threatened grey rhebok. In time, Ezamvelo hopes that these species, particularly oribi antelope, can be reintroduced here. In a statement, the conservation agency said the creation of the new reserve was the result of a carefully negotiated biodiversity offset agreement between Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and uMngeni uThukela Water regional water utility group. 'This agreement was initiated to compensate for the environmental impact of constructing a new wastewater pipeline through a portion of the Midmar Nature Reserve. Recognising the significance of the offset, the KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Board made an exceptional decision to temporarily waive its policy prohibiting servitudes through protected areas. 'This concession was granted on the condition that the residual damage to Midmar's grasslands be offset through the acquisition of high-conservation-value land and its incorporation into the provincial protected area network.' There will be no fences separating the iNkonjane and Impendle reserves, which will allow the free movement of wildlife and the integrated management of a larger conservation unit, allowing for greater ecological resilience. 'The addition of iNkonjane Nature Reserve to the protected area estate brings the area of land managed by Ezemvelo to 518,628ha – about 5.5% of the province and the total protected area extent to 1,016,769ha, or 10.78% of the province. 'While still below the global conservation target of 30% land protection, each new reserve marks significant progress toward South Africa's international biodiversity commitments.' The announcement also coincides with World Migratory Bird Day (10 May), an international educational and awareness-raising campaign that promotes conservation efforts for migratory birds and their journeys across borders. For more details, visit DM
