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The Buffalo are Back

Return of Buffalo to uMkhuze Game Reserve

A founder herd of 103 buffalo was released Thursday, 25 August, into the uMkhuze Game Reserve, now part of the Greater St Lucia World Heritage site, as part of a major game relocation programme by the Wetland Park Authority and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.

The reintroduction of the buffalo, which brings the Wetland Park one step closer to becoming a Big Five national park, means that tourists and local residents will be able to see animals that became extinct in this part of KwaZulu-Natal more than 75 years ago.

The reintroduction of buffalo is part of a greater game restocking exercise designed to ensure that the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park becomes a major global tourism destination – and a force for economic growth and reconciliation in the region. Says Wetland Park Authority Chairman Mavuso Msimang, “The key challenge for the Wetland Park is to “develop to conserve” thus putting an emphasis on the alleviation of poverty and regional economic development as the most effective way to ensure the survival and regeneration of the World Heritage site’s biodiversity”.

Other rare and valuable game brought back into the Wetland Park include elephant, black and white rhino, tsessebe, oribi and wild dog.

According to the Wetland Park Conservation Manager Tony Conway “The buffalo herds will also help restore a natural balance to the ecology of the Wetlands. Buffalo are bulk grazers and are likely to make major use of the riverine and floodplain areas of uMkhuze restoring plant and grass species to their natural states. They will also, as they create their own natural environment, bring bird species such as oxpeckers and cattle egrets, thus adding to the species richness of the park.”

The reintroduction was made possible by a generous agreement from SANParks and Paul van Vlissingen, a Dutch conservationist active in the Marakele National Park, to donate animals from Marakele as well as the Kruger Park to the Wetland Park Authority at no cost.

It will allow the Wetlands to breed buffalo that are free of bovine tuberculosis, a disease that has afflicted most of the Kruger Parks herds, and develop a reservoir of TB- free animals that could be used to stock other parks in the event that the TB epidemic results in major culling of buffalo herds.

The reintroduction was made possible by a strategic investment by the Wetland Authority of some R40-million into the uMkhuze section of the Wetland Park. The money is being spent on road upgrades, upgraded hides, scout camps, a 150-kilometre fence, upgraded existing Emshopi entrance and new entrance gates to uMkhuze. This includes improved camping facilities, community craft market and restaurant.

The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park Authority has succeeded in incorporating 16 different parcels of land into the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park making a 280 km long, 280 000ha protected area.

The buffalo introduction follows a rigorous process with Wetland Park managers and scientists providing input according to a zonation, management plan and ongoing monitoring.

It appears that the rinderpest epidemics of 1895 and 1904 were responsible for extermination buffalo in the Wetlands, says Reg Gush, an uMkhuze historian and conservationist. This is confirmed by renowned scientist Dr Peter Goodman who bases his conclusions on discussions with Zulu game guards called Makhuwane Mlambo and Khontswayo Ndlovu – both of who remember seeing the demise of the herds.

ISSUED by the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park Authority Siyabonga Centre, St Lucia. Queries: Joseph Fataar - Telephone (035) 590 1633

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