Ndumo Game Reserve

Last updated
Ndumo Game Reserve
Nyamithi Pan (32382048525).jpg
South Africa KwaZulu-Natal relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in KwaZulu-Natal
Location KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Nearest city Mkuze, Kwa-Zulu Natal
Coordinates 26°54′43″S32°15′48″E / 26.91194°S 32.26333°E / -26.91194; 32.26333
Area102 km2 (39 sq mi)
EstablishedUnknown
Governing body Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife
Designated21 January 1997
Reference no.887 [1]

Ndumo Game Reserve is a small (11,000 hectares (27,000 acres)) [2] South African game reserve located in the far northeast district of KwaZulu-Natal known as Maputaland. It is situated on the border with Mozambique where the Pongola River joins the Great Usutu River. It is adjacent to the Tembe Elephant Park. Ndumo is relatively remote, being over 400 kilometres (250 mi) from Durban. The town of Mkuze is 110 kilometres (68 mi) away.

Contents

Ndumo hosts a diverse range of habitats including sand forest, dense riverine forest, floodplains, alluvial plains, reedbeds, grassland, broad-leaved and acacia woodlands and extremely dense thornveld. Ndumo is popular for its birdlife and despite its small size, the reserve has recorded in excess of 430 bird species including residents and seasonal migrants. The park's abundance of pans, floodplains and rivers (Pongola & Usutu) provide suitable habitat for many aquatic species. The Maputaland area in general is relatively rich in birdlife due to ecosystem diversity as well as its geographical location: the area forms the southernmost range for a great many eastern and north-eastern African bird species. The area receives a high annual rainfall.

A short list of sought-after bird species resident to Ndumo:

Large mammals found in Ndumo include nyala, hippopotamus, Nile crocodile, impala and Cape buffalo. Big cats are absent from the park. Elephants are prolific at the neighbouring Tembe Elephant Park.

As with all parts of Maputaland, malaria is endemic and visitors are advised to take the proper precautions.

There is an Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife campsite and hutted camp.

This park is to be included into the: Usuthu-Tembe-Futi Transfrontier Conservation Area.

Displacement of Indigenous Peoples

In 1924, the area that is now the Ndumo Game Reserve was declared to be a protected area by South Africa. In the 1950s and 60s, the local inhabitants were forcibly evicted from their native lands. Although the Ndumo communities legally contested their right to the land, they were denied the right to resettle the land, instead given financial restitution and (in theory) a say in management. One resident says of this period of time:

There we were rich; we ate sweet potatoes, bananas, madumbe [root vegetable], cassava and pumpkins. We drank from the Usuthu River. Today that river is reserved for the hippos and crocodiles while our children die from drought. The wild fruits are left to fatten the monkeys, and the rhinos graze on the graves of our ancestors. [3]

The unresolved dispute over control of this land, and ongoing issues with Community Based Natural Resource Management as a conservation model in the province (Meer 2010), has resulted in the anomalous situation that the eastern part of this declared provincial game reserve is now occupied and farmed by locals. This is despite its status as a Ramsar wetland of international importance, declared in 1997. Farmland is replacing the indigenous vegetation and wildlife, and crocodiles no longer nest along the river.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maputo River</span> River in Eswatini, Mozambique

The Maputo River, also called Great Usutu River, Lusutfu River, or Suthu River, is a river in South Africa, Eswatini, and Mozambique. The name Suthu refers to Basotho people who lived near the source of the river, but were attacked and displaced by Swazis. It is also said to mean 'dark brown', a description of the river's muddy water.

iSimangaliso Wetland Park South Africas third-largest protected area, spanning 280 km of coastline

iSimangaliso Wetland Park is situated on the east coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, about 235 km (146 mi) north of Durban by road. It is South Africa's third-largest protected area, spanning 280 km (170 mi) of coastline, from the Mozambican border in the north to Mapelane south of the Lake St. Lucia estuary, and made up of around 3,280 km2 of natural ecosystems, managed by the iSimangaliso Authority. The park includes:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park</span> Nature reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park, formerly Hluhluwe–Umfolozi Game Reserve, is the oldest proclaimed nature reserve in Africa. It consists of 960 km² of hilly topography 280 kilometres (170 mi) north of Durban in central KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and is known for its rich wildlife and conservation efforts. Operated by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, the park is the only state-run park in KwaZulu-Natal where each of the big five game animals can be found.

The Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area was born out of the Peace Park Foundation’s vision to establish a network of transfrontier conservation areas in southern Africa. It straddles the border between South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, southern Mozambique, and Eswatini.

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is a governmental organisation responsible for maintaining wildlife conservation areas and biodiversity in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Their headquarters is in Queen Elizabeth Park situated on the northern slopes of Pietermaritzburg, the KwaZulu-Natal provincial capital. Prior to 1994, it was known as the Natal Parks Board.

KwaZulu-Natal is one of the most diverse provinces in South Africa in terms of its fauna and flora. Many of its wide variety of ecosystems have been preserved as parks and reserves, which are popular tourist attractions. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is a governmental agency that maintains the wildlife conservation areas in the province. 

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve</span> Wildlife Reserve of Nepal

The Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve is a protected area in the Terai of eastern Nepal covering 176 km2 (68 sq mi) of wetlands in the Sunsari, Saptari and Udayapur Districts. It comprises extensive reed beds and freshwater marshes in the floodplain of the Kosi River, and ranges in elevation from 75 to 81 m. It was established in 1976 and designated as a Ramsar site in December 1987. It hosts Nepal's last remaining herd of the wild water buffalo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kosi Bay</span>

Kosi Bay is a series of four interlinked lakes in the Maputaland area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tembe Elephant Park</span>

Tembe Elephant Park is a 30 012 ha game reserve in Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is adjacent to Ndumo Game Reserve.

Phongolo Nature Reserve is an Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife reserve in Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The reserve is 10,485 ha in extent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maputaland coastal forest mosaic</span> Subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion on the Indian Ocean coast of Southern Africa.

The Maputaland coastal forest mosaic is a subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion on the Indian Ocean coast of Southern Africa. It covers an area of 29,961 square kilometres (11,568 sq mi) in southern Mozambique, Eswatini, and the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. Mozambique's capital Maputo lies within the ecoregion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Pooley</span>

Tony Charles (Mashesha) Pooley (1938–2004) was a South African naturalist, award-winning conservationist and one of the world's foremost authorities on the Nile crocodile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Natal National Park</span> National park in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Royal Natal National Park is a 80.94-square-kilometre (31.25 sq mi) park in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa and forms part of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site. Notwithstanding the name, it is actually not a South African National Park managed by the SANParks, but rather a Provincial Park managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. This park is now included in the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Area Peace Park.

Protected areas of Eswatini include any geographical area protected for a specific use inside the landlocked country of Eswatini, in southern Africa.

Usuthu-Tembe-Futi Transfrontier Conservation Area is a group of protected areas in southern Africa, straddling parts of South Africa, Mozambique and Eswatini, including the following:

Maputo Special Reserve is a nature reserve in Mozambique.

Futi Corridor in Mozambique, is a corridor of land along the Futi River to the South African border. The corridor will effectively restore an historical migration and movement route of a valuable elephant population between Maputo Special Reserve and the Tembe Elephant Park in South Africa. The Futi Corridor covers 68.800 Ha. The Futi River is the northern extension of the drainage line known as the Mosi Swamp, which rises near Manaba about 55 km south of the border. The Futi River does not reach the sea, but ends in swamp grasslands in the north of the Maputo Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pongolapoort Dam</span> Dam in Northern KwaZulu-Natal

Pongolapoort Dam, commonly referred to as Jozini Dam creating Lake Jozini, is an arch type dam in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa located on the Phongolo River. The dam is situated just north of the settlement of Jozini, 280 km north-east of the port city of Durban. The dam was constructed in 1973 at the eastern end of the narrow gorge separating the Lebombo and Ubombo ranges. The dam mainly serves for irrigation purposes and its hazard potential has been ranked high (3). The Phongolo River is the dam's largest feeder and outlet as well as the dam's only perennial feeder.

The Peace Park Foundation, founded in 1997 by Dr Anton Rupert, President Nelson Mandela and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, is an organization that aims to re-establish, renew and conserve large ecosystems in Africa, transcending man-made boundaries by creating regionally integrated and sustainably managed networks of Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs). Peace Parks Foundation has been involved in the establishment and development of ten of the 18 TFCAs found throughout southern Africa, all of which are in various stages of development. The establishment of each TFCA, or peace park, is complex and far-reaching, and involves several phases of activity, which can take many years to achieve.

References

  1. ↑ "Ndumo Game Reserve". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. ↑ Ndumo Game Reserve: Integrated Management Plan (2009–2013), Version 1.0. (2009). Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, Pietermaritzburg, 106pp. and 7 maps (4 x A4, 3 x A3).
  3. ↑ Impey, Angela (June 2013). "SONGS OF MOBILITY AND BELONGING: Gender, Spatiality and the Local in Southern Africa's Transfrontier Conservation Development" (PDF). Interventions. 15 (2): 255–271. doi:10.1080/1369801X.2013.798475. ISSN   1369-801X.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.