The Cape Floristic Kingdom, with its unique floral and habitat diversity, is one of South Africa’s most picturesque and most popular birding areas. Although the Fynbos does not have the large variation of bird species that the bushveld does, several endemic and highly sought after
When Vasco Da Gama first rounded the Cape a few hundred years ago, African Penguins numbered in their millions. Today, the global population stands at around 30 000 pairs and with the population of this iconic seabird falling at 20% per annum (equating to a
The global population of Cape Gannets has decreased by over 20% in just three generations! This is largely as a result of overfishing in the small pelagic fisheries off the South African and Namibian coastlines. Other threats to the species include oil pollution, climate change
Even more productive than both the rivers and the oceans that influence them, estuaries are some of our most important coastal ecological features. They are a transition zone where fish, animals and birds congregate to feed, find refuge and grow to adulthood. They are unique
The Cape Sugarbird is one of two endemic sugarbird species to be found in South Africa and is restricted to the Cape Floristic Kingdom between the Cedarberg Mountains and the Buffalo River near East London, where its distribution is linked to the occurrence of Protea
Critical breeding grounds for African Penguins, Cape Gannets, gulls, cormorants and tern species, the guano islands that lie off the coastline of the Western Cape of South Africa protect seabirds from disturbance and predation from land-based predators. Sadly, the populations of many of these seabirds
Historically confined to the coastal plains of the Western Cape, the Bontebok was almost brought to extinction by overhunting. With a remaining population of less than 20 animals, a few farming families on the Agulhas Plain near Bredasdorp started to protect it in the mid
Measuring in at only around 15cms in length the Orange-Breasted Sunbird has to be one of the Cape Floristic Kingdom's most attractive endemic species. The male’s spectacular coloration of metal-green head and neck, blue collar and orange belly make it unmistakable, while the female is
Southern Africa has an incredible diversity of reptile fauna with a minimum of 517 species that have so far been described. These include 151 snakes, 338 lizards, 27 tortoises and one crocodile. Many more species are still awaiting description in the scientific literature and, sadly,
The marriage of conservation and human development has never been a happy one; historically the one has usually been accomplished at the expense of the other one. Conservation has excluded human development and has sometimes compromised it, while human development has often been achieved at