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Bradypodion is one of six genera of chameleons within the "true" or "typical" chameleons. They are native to southern Africa, and are sometimes collectively called South African dwarf chameleons. Some other small chameleons from eastern and central Africa are occasionally placed herein, but this is probably in error and not followed here. See also Systematics below and Kinyongia and Nadzikambia.
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.
The Cape dwarf chameleon is a chameleon native to the South African province of the Western Cape, where it is restricted to the region around Cape Town.
Ndumo Game Reserve is a small 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 km from Durban. The town of Mkuze is 110 km away.
The Cape Floristic Region is a floristic region located near the southern tip of South Africa. It is the only floristic region of the Cape Floristic Kingdom, and includes only one floristic province, known as the Cape Floristic Province.
The Cape genet, also known as the South African large-spotted genet, is a genet species endemic to South Africa. As it is common and not threatened, it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Like other genets, it is nocturnal and arboreal, preferring to live in the riparian zones of forests, as long as these are not marshy areas.
The wildlife of South Africa consists of the flora and fauna of this country in southern Africa. The country has a range of different habitat types and an ecologically rich and diverse wildlife, vascular plants being particularly abundant, many of them endemic to the country. There are few forested areas, much savanna grassland, semi-arid Karoo vegetation and the fynbos of the Cape Floristic Region. Famed for its national parks and big game, 297 species of mammal have been recorded in South Africa, as well as 858 species of bird and over 20,000 species of vascular plants.
The African broadbill, also known as the black-capped broadbill or Delacour's broadbill is a species of bird in the sub-oscine family Calyptomenidae.
The forest shrew is a species of shrew in the mouse shrew family, Soricidae. It is found in Lesotho, South Africa, and Eswatini. Its natural habitats include temperate forests, dry savanna, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, and temperate grassland. The term "forest shrews" in the plural is sometimes confusingly used to collectively refer to a different genus, Sylvisorex.
The Transvaal dwarf chameleon is a chameleon native to South Africa, where it is found in forested areas of Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces. It is also known as the Wolkberg dwarf chameleon, after the Wolkberg range.
Ilanda Wilds is a nature reserve along Amanzimtoti River in the town of Amanzimtoti, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This small area of land contains various habitat types, ranging from steep rocky slopes to various riverine habitats, forest and small patches of grassland.
The black-headed dwarf chameleon is a lizard of the family Chamaeleonidae endemic to KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is also known as the KwaZulu dwarf chamaeleon and Durban dwarf chameleon.
Areas of forest which grow in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa mostly on south facing slopes in higher rainfall areas, and along the humid coastal areas. Different types of forest can be identified by their species composition which depends mostly on the altitude, latitude and substrate in which they grow. South facing slopes are favourable for the development of forest as they are more shaded, and therefore cooler and retain more moisture than the northern slopes. The extra moisture on the south slopes is not only favoured by forest trees, but also helps to prevent or subdue wildfires. Fires can also be blocked by cliff faces and rocks or boulders on these slopes, and by streams or rivers at the base of the slopes. The coastal regions are conducive to forest formation, because of high rainfall and humidity which are favoured by forest trees and also help to prevent or subdue fires. The rivers of the coastal areas are also broader than further inland, which may often prevent fires from spreading long distances, and fires generally burn uphill and therefore more often away from areas at low altitude.
oNgoye Forest, also known as Ngoye or Ngoya Forest, is an ancient coastal scarp forest, protected by the oNgoye Forest Reserve in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province. The forest of almost 4,000 ha covers an extensive granite ridge that rises from 200 to 460 metres above sea level. It is found some 10 km inland, or 16 km by road, from the coastal town of Mtunzini, and adjoins smaller forest reserves on its periphery, namely Impeshulu in the west, Ezigwayini in the north, and Dengweni in the south.
The Hawaan Forest is situated in Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is a large remnant of a climax dry coastal dune forest and the last of its kind. This forest grows on a dune that dates back 18,000 years. The Hawaan forest is currently under the guardianship of the Wildlife and Environment Society of Southern Africa (WESSA), but is owned by the Tongaat Hulett Group. The property was originally owned by the Campbell family who first settled there in 1859 and the Hawaan Forest has been protected since 1860. The Hawaan Forest Estate is known for being one of the most exclusive estates in the country.
The Karkloof Forest is situated in the Karkloof Nature Reserve, 22 km north of Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
The Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot (MPA) is a biodiversity hotspot, a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity, in Southern Africa. It is situated near the south-eastern coast of Africa, occupying an area between the Great Escarpment and the Indian Ocean. The area is named after Maputaland, Pondoland and Albany. It stretches from the Albany Centre of Plant Endemism in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, through the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism and KwaZulu-Natal Province, the eastern side of Eswatini and into southern Mozambique and Mpumalanga. The Maputaland Centre of Plant Endemism is contained in northern KwaZulu-Natal and southern Mozambique.
KwaZulu-Natal Dune Forest is a subtropical forest type that was once found almost continuously along the coastal dunes of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This vegetation type develops in sheltered areas behind the littoral zone, where with some protection from the salt wind it may develop with canopies as tall as 30 m. It still exists in protected areas, but much has been degraded by human activity. Coastal dune forest covers approximately 1% of the land area of KwaZulu-Natal, and is a habitat type seriously threatened from human population pressure and development.
The Marutswa Forest Trail & Boardwalk is situated in the indigenous mist-belt forest near Bulwer in a region called the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.
The Natal Midlands dwarf chameleon is a chameleon native to woodland habitat in the inland Midlands area of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal.
References
- ↑ MERWE, M. VAN DER; DIPPENAAR-SCHOEMAN, A. S.; SCHOLTZ, C. H. (December 1996). "Diversity of ground-living spiders at Ngome State Forest, Kwazulu/Natal: a comparative survey in indigenous forest and pine plantations". African Journal of Ecology. 34 (4): 342–350. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.1996.tb00630.x. ISSN 0141-6707.
- Pooley, E. 1993. The Complete Field Guide to Trees of Natal, Zululand and Transkei. ISBN 0-620-17697-0.
- Tolley, K. and Burger, M. 2007. Chameleons of Southern Africa. ISBN 978-1-77007-375-3.