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Eyewitness News
13-07-2025
- General
- Eyewitness News
Why safety on Table Mountain needs all of us
JP Louw 9 July 2025 | 12:53 Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. Picture: Falco/Pixabay Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) is a vast park of some 225 square kilometers that is mostly openly accessible with no borders or gates. In fact, whilst others consider it to be a national park in a city, others say that Cape Town is actually a city in a national park. The beauty of this national park is breathtaking. But beauty can become danger if basic safety rules are ignored. That's why SANParks continues to issue safety guidelines, and recent incidents prove just how vital those messages are. But what is the use of signage, media engagements, awareness blitzes, loud hailers, and all other efforts to get the message out when, at a partnership level, we do not seek to join efforts to push back against criminal elements? For context and not wishing to nitpick, a few scenarios will illustrate this aptly. A young lady was stranded at about 8pm on a Friday night with no cellphone or cash. Our rangers, whilst on a routine safety patrol, came across her and offered assistance. In another instance, a group of ladies in their late teens and early twenties were also found walking from Signal Hill to Lion's Head by themselves at night. This is unsafe, as we advise hikers not to hike at night. For the sake of better understanding for non-Cape Town residents, Lions Head is a hill on the north side of Table Mountain that forms two beautiful peaks that are overlooking the central business district on the one side and Camps Bay and the beach on the other side. This hill then slopes down in the form of a lion's rump, where Signal Hill is located. The actions of rangers from Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) were nothing short of heroic. At a time when some may question the responsiveness of public services, SANParks has again proven its commitment not only to preserving nature, but also to protect people. But as we call for a partnership to work together, we are, of course, not excusing SANParks and its management of its responsibilities. For its part, SANParks has implemented the following: • Increased the ranger corps and other support functions in TMNP by 49% (with a 43% increase in conservation staff), including increasing the SEAM Special Operations team from 16 to 40 rangers.• Aerial deployment of the SANParks helicopter over peak visitor seasons to augment ground operations.• Joint operations with SAPS, City Law Enforcement, Metro Police and community safety initiatives.• Information sharing and joint deployment through the Table Mountain Safety Forum, held every 2nd week. • Targeted operations managed through the Operations Centre of SANParks and Fusion Centre of City of Cape Town. Debates about doing or spending more will, of course, rage on. Sadly, there are others who have no understanding of South Africa's successful and world-class conservation model that saved species like Bontebok and the Mountain Zebra. But that is a matter for another time and space, which clearly needs SANParks to introspect about the means to provide better education and information about its successful workings. Importantly, while we are engaged in debates, we should not lose sight of the positive strides that are being made. The recent rescues on Signal Hill and Lion's Head are not isolated moments of luck but ongoing, strategic investments in safety efforts. SANParks doesn't merely manage land, it manages risk, human behaviour, and unpredictable variables that come with urban-adjacent natural beauty. But we are also well aware of the critical need to partner with users of Table Mountain National Park to push back against criminal elements. It is also against this understanding that we continue inviting all who are keen to constructively support this effort to join hands. An interesting case scenario is from Reunion, an island in the Indian Ocean. Similar to Cape Town, they are both popular travel destinations, have natural beauty and diversity, and are surrounded by the ocean. Reunion ran a 10-year campaign with residents living around the park to switch off their lights during the Petrel's fledgling period when they are learning to fly. The Petrel is an endangered bird species, and this action was intended to reduce the mortality of these fledglings by switching off the bright lights. Artificial lights were known to induce mass mortality of four species of petrels. When birds saw the night light, they thought it was daytime and would jump to learn how to fly, but could not orientate themselves and would die from the fall. There was active support and participation from communities which also fostered a sense of national pride. Between January 1996 to December 2021, the rescue campaign prevented the death of more than 35,000 birds. Partnership is vital between us, as SANParks, and visitors. Our discourse must be focused more on collaboration that can mobilise positive actions and adherence to safety notices that are shared repeatedly. We need a partnership with visitors to improve safety on the mountain, whether from hazards like injuries which can occur because of the terrain or potential criminals lurking in the shadows. We can put out messages, but we need communities and hikers to embrace and act on these messages to ensure that everyone can enjoy the beauty of the mountain and its hiking trails. JP Louw is SANParks Head of Communications and spokesperson.
IOL News
24-04-2025
- Science
- IOL News
Cederberg wildlife survey reveals insights into leopard populations
A Cape Leopard cub found wandering in the Cederberg, as part of hundreds of photos taken by The Cape Leopard Trust Research team from their large-scale survey in the region. Image: Cape Leopard Trust The Cape Leopard Trust Research team is buzzing with excitement as they unveil the results of a significant survey of the Cederberg region. Spanning over 1600 km² of this rugged, iconic landscape, the survey ran from June to December 2023 and promises to shed light on the elusive leopard population within one of South Africa's most pristine natural habitats. During the survey, 67 paired camera stations were strategically placed along jeep tracks and hiking trails, ensuring comprehensive coverage of the varied montane Fynbos environment, which includes provincial and private nature reserves as well as communal lands. The challenges faced during this survey were immense, from unprecedented floods and snow to heatwaves and veld fires. A caracal that was spotted in the survey conducted by the Cape Leopard Trust in the Cederberg Image: Cape Leopard Trust Working alongside the cutting-edge machine learning programme WildID, the research team meticulously sifted through over 240,000 photographs captured by the cameras. Remarkably, among these images, a staggering 29,000 were of human subjects, predominantly showcasing the legs of researchers, hikers, and trail runners in this popular outdoor hotspot. However, the survey's primary focus was on the diverse wildlife inhabiting the Cederberg, and initial results are promising. The researchers have documented an impressive 29 mammal species, including beloved native wild animals such as the genet, mongoose, honey badger, aardvark, and aardwolf. the most frequently captured species include baboons, rock hyrax (dassie), klipspringers, and grey rhebucks. Bird enthusiasts will also be pleased to learn that numerous avian species were recorded, including the spotted eagle-owl, rock kestrel, hamerkop, and South African shelduck. In a notable highlight, leopards were spotted at 60 of the 67 camera locations, achieving a remarkable success rate of 90%. Through careful analysis using the pattern recognition software of African Carnivore Wildbook and corroborated by visual identification, researchers evaluated just over 860 identifiable leopard images, resulting in the identification of 37 unique adult leopards. Notably, this year's survey has brought the past into focus; nine leopards recorded in previous surveys conducted between 2017 and 2018 were also photographed in 2023, indicating a potential stability in their population dynamics. The Mountain Zebra that was wandering in the Cederberg captured by the Cape Leopard Trust during the survey in the region Image: Cape Leopard Trust
