Quathlamba
“Listen to the streams as they gurgle from their cradles
and you will hear the story of the mountains. You will hear fascinating tales
if only you listen! Lie next to a stream and listen to the song of the
mountains. The smiling faces of the flowers, dancing in the wind. Venture into
the remote valleys or stand on a peak at sunrise or sunset, after snow has fallen,
and you will hear a song that you will never forget - the Song of the High
Mountain".
DRAKENSBERG WILDERNESS PHOTOS ©
WILLEM PELSER
“THEY SHALL DWELL
SAFELY IN THE WILDERNESS AND SLEEP IN THE WOODS,
AND NONE SHALL MAKE
THEM AFRAID”
BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL
WILDLIFE OF THE
DRAKENSBERG
THE STORY OF THE ELAND
There are literally hundreds of species of wild
flowers, trees, and ferns in the Drakensberg. The birdlife is fantastic and on
these rolling hills roam eland, Oribi, mountain reedbuck and grey rhebok, and
on the high ledges of the mountains the shy little klipspringer browses.
When
the Giant’s Castle
Reserve was first proclaimed in 1903, its main objective was to provide a
sanctuary for the fast disappearing eland, one of the noblest, and certainly
the largest, of South Africa’s antelopes. At one time it was the commonest
antelope in the Drakensberg. We know this from accounts of early hunters and
also from the Bushman paintings that adorn the cave walls in the sandstone
cliffs of the Little Berg, where the eland is the commonest animal depicted.
But by the turn of the century the herds that roamed these mountain solitudes
in peace and security were gone and the numbers were down to a meager 200
individuals. It was considered that in 1900 there were only 20 left in the area
of the present reserve.
Baboon foraging
The eland, Taurotragus oryx, (the Zulu name is Impofu),
is 150 cm to 180 cm in height, about the size of a large ox, and a weight in
the Drakensberg of up to 452 kg. This is considerably less than the weight - up
to 820 kg – of eland found in other parts of Africa. He is buff colored,
turning to grey as he grows older. He has a very distinct black vertical stripe
from his horns to the root of his tail, and long, hanging dewlaps. Both sexes
have fairly long, spiraled horns. The eland is both a grazer and a browser, and
is particular to Buddleia salvifolia and Halleria lucida. In his
wild state he is nervous and wary. If a herd of eland spots you – they have
excellent eyesight – they will stand still for a few moments and then make off
at a brisk trot, either up a slope or round the shoulder of a hill, seldom
downhill. Their call is a low, barking note. Although a large animal, the eland
is not aggressive. In spite of their great size they are excellent jumpers, and
will easily clear a two-meter fence.
Eland herd at Lotheni Reserve
The Drakensberg eland are of especial importance,
because they are directly descended from the original eland of that particular
district. In the Sudan there is a giant species Taurotragus derbianus gigas,
which can weigh up to 1000 kg.
Today,
in Kzn, they occur from
Giant’s Castle south to Cobham. Under former natural conditions it is almost
certain that they used to winter in the Thornveld, spending only their summer
in the Drakensberg, but owning to increased hunting and the opening up of the
Midlands of Natal to early settlers, they sought permanent refuge in the
Drakensberg.
Lotheni Reserve
They
are, however, great
wanderers, and the Natal Parks Board at one stage erected a strong 220 cm
10-strand eland fence around the Reserve. With their great jumping ability it
did little to restrict the movement of the eland, however, and when the fence
fell into disrepair it was not replaced.
In 1958 two eland were
killed in the Upper uThukela Location, between Cathedral Peak and the Royal
Natal National Park. They were probably following their old instinct of
migrating to the Thornveld. The concentration of eland in the Drakensberg
throughout the year does not cause problems of overstocking or overgrazing
because of the high calf mortality. This is as high as 60 percent, and is due
to the poor nutrition of young animals in the harsh mountain environment.
The eland is generally a
docile animal. Even bulls in captivity rarely become vicious, although one
should remain cautious and vigilant near any wild animal.
Eland Family with calf –
Lotheni
Eland meat is tender and most palatable. As far back as
1848 it was proposed that the eland should be domesticated. Actually there
have been several attempts at domesticating the eland. A notable one was made
at Askanya Nova, in southern Russia, in 1895, where a good deal of useful
information was collected. In 1954 a small herd was established at Zezani, in
the heart of Zimbabwe Mopane country. It was soon found that the eland would
flourish in an area quite unsuitable to cattle, and the opinion was formed that
eland meat was equal, if not superior, to beef.
Here
in the Drakensberg the
first attempts to domesticate the eland were made as far back as 1907. A number
of calves were caught and sent to Cedera. Nothing came from this attempt, but a
year or so later calves were supplied to several farmers in the Natal Midlands,
notably to Andrew Sclanders and the Moe brothers at New Hanover. The Moe’s were
the most successful in achieving results, and one of the brothers actually rode
an eland round the show ring at an agricultural show!
Thendele – Royal Natal
National Park
A most ambitious experiment
was carried out by the Natal Parks Board at Lotheni, on the southern slopes of
Giant’s Castle. Here an eland domestication unit was established some years ago
and the eland was studied. The herd reached about 40 head, and valuable
information was obtained concerning the growth and handling of the domesticated
animal.
It has already been proved that the eland can be
domesticated, that the meat is excellent, and that eland farming can be carried
on successfully in areas to dry for conventional cattle farming. The Russian
experiment showed that small, selected herds soon deteriorated through
inbreeding, and the present small numbers of eland preclude the possibility of
larger domesticated herds. However, the eland has not caught the attention of
the rancher, who still finds it easier to raise cattle.
Today,
in the Giant’s Castle
Game Reserve, and in the area south of Giant’s Castle, the eland is
flourishing. From being on the danger list, numbers have now increased to a
figure which makes the future of the eland assured. (Poaching however, have
increased, and due to the vastness of the area and lack of rangers, goes on
unabated and without fear of prosecution – Willem Pelser.)
Mid-winter, Lotheni Reserve
There
is no doubt that KZN
Wildlife has done magnificent work, not only in the establishment and running
of its game reserves (there are more than 40 game and nature reserves in KZN)
but in control of wildlife generally, and in restocking the reserves with species
that had died out.
But there are significant
dangers ahead. There are some who hold that prior to the European settlement of
the country; the game was largely migratory in character. Animals rarely
wintered in the Drakensberg, preferring the sweeter grass and warmer valleys of
the Thornveld. The inferior size of the Drakensberg eland underlines this.
Today, with our fences, our railroads and highways, our ploughed lands, our
developing towns and cities, migration is impossible, and the game is confined
to one area all the year round. This leads to damage through overgrazing. Once
man interferes in any way whatever with the delicate balance of nature, the
result is dangerous. Chain reactions set in, with incalculable results. Damage
due to overgrazing could lead inevitably to eventual paddocking and artificial
feeding, and the game reserve would be reduced in status to that of a glorified
zoo. If this happens it will have been in direct consequence of the tourist’s
desire to see game, for the species being introduced are in little danger of
dying out. In other words, it is apparently the profit motive which is
dominant, and the results would be that fauna would be protected at the expense
of flora.
Lotheni Reserve
This
clash of interest between
the demands of the tourist industry and the demands of the nature
conservationists is an ever present one. When our game reserves were first proclaimed
they were designed purely for the protection and conservation of game. It was
only later that tourists started clamoring to see game. In America this
tendency has reached alarming proportions. The Yosemite National Park in
California is visited by thousands of tourists a day, whose noise practically
drowns out even the thunder of the Yosemite Falls! The Kruger National Park,
with its huge camps, its stores and restaurants, its tarred roads and its
filling stations, is in danger of going the same way. So far, in KwaZulu-Natal
this pressure has been largely resisted. There should be no roads in the
reserves, apart from the access road. There has been some moderate expansion
and modernization of hutted camp facilities but it has generally been sympathetic
to the environment. Man should be prepared to go out on the two legs God gave
him, carrying his food on his back, and glad to make the effort needed to enjoy
what nature has to offer.
Should we make a distinction between reserves and
recreational areas? Nature Reserves, certainly, should be primarily for
wildlife and environmental conservation. They can be used for outdoor
recreation within reason, but they should be kept primarily for the genuine
lover of nature. Fortunately, the Parks authority makes this distinction, but
our Drakensberg hotel resorts are losing their original purpose. These resorts
have been invaded by a motley crowd who wanted little more than their bowls,
their tennis, and their golf, their cards and their sundowners. They rarely
lift their eyes to the mountains, they rarely venture into them, and never once
do they feel their hearts stir with wonder and delight at the wilderness around
them. Tennis and bowls and golf are first class and worthwhile recreations, but
our Drakensberg hotels, originally at least, were designed mainly for lovers of
nature, hikers, and mountaineers.
Herd at Lotheni Reserve
In his annual report for 1967/1968 Dr. D. Hey, former
director of Nature Conservation for the Cape, said: ‘It is most important to
reduce the public pressure on nature reserves and national parks by providing
recreational facilities elsewhere for those who are not particularly interested
in wildlife, but merely wish to relax out-of-doors. It is quite possible for a
nature reserve to be destroyed by an excessive number of visitors.” He could
not have put it more clearly. Let us at least keep our Drakensberg Reserves
inviolable from this sort of thing.
Man has got to do a lot of rethinking if he is to
survive. In the past he has adopted the arrogant assumption that he is apart
from the animal kingdom, sole owner of the world in which he lives, that he is
Lord of Creation and can do what he likes with his environment. Since 1600 the
world has lost 101 species of birds and 46 mammalian species, 44 of the former
and 27 of the latter within the last 50 years. And year after year he spews
out, at an increasing rate, his polluting gases into the atmosphere and his
filth into the oceans.
Antelope at Thendele, Royal
Natal National Park
Man is not a distinct entity. He is an inseparable part
of the whole of nature, and you, and I, and all the creatures of the wild, are
fellow travelers, with a common goal, a common destiny, and a common fate on a
small and very vulnerable planet travelling through the depths of space.
The End.
Safe Hiking.
References and Acknowledgements
From the book – Barriers
of Spears
Photos: ©Willem Pelser
Compiled by: Willem Pelser
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