Nature reserve stops cub petting
THE Rhino and Lion
Nature Reserve in the
Cradle of Humankind,
will no longer be offering cub
petting to the public.
Under the new ownership
of the Bothongo Group, the
reserve has initiated a threeyear plan to upgrade all its
public facilities, habitats and
wildlife enclosures, which will
be remodelled around the
welfare and wellbeing of its
animals, the group said in a
statement.
“The reserve team will
dedicate themselves to a
new internal mantra of being
a ‘nurture reserve’, which will
include striving to maintain
a healthy, genetically diverse
and contented animal
collection, working with local
and international institutions
and bodies; not selling
or exchanging any of its
animals, especially its lions,
unless it is to a reputable
accredited facility and/or
licensed wildlife institution;
breeding animals only if
this serves a conservation
purpose.
MonkeylandKZN opens in Ballito
A NEW attraction,
MonkeylandKZN, has opened
near Ballito on KwaZulu Natal’s
Dolphin Coast.
Tours give visitors the
opportunity to see various
primate species, including
Capuchin monkeys, Ringtail
and Black-and-White Ruffed
lemurs, Buff-cheeked gibbons,
Squirrel monkeys and Black
Howler monkeys.
MonkeylandKZN is part
of the South Africa Animal
Sanctuary Alliance. It is open
daily from 08h00 and the
last tour departs at 16h00.
Visitors are advised to wear
comfortable closed shoes
for guided walks through the
forest, and to apply mosquito
repellent.
There is a gift shop
at the reception area, a
pizza restaurant, outdoor
children's play area and an
environmental cinema.
Sterkfontein Caves road to be upgraded
THE Gauteng Department
of Roads and Transport will
rehabilitate sections of Road
D1701 (Sterkfontein Caves
Road), which has developed
sinkholes.
“Following inspections by
departmental engineers, a
decision was taken to resume
rehabilitation works as the
road has been identified as
being unsafe,” the provincial
department said.
The road is in the precinct
of the Cradle of Humankind
World Heritage Site in
Krugersdorp.
“The rehabilitation process
is expected to be completed
around mid-October. Complete
road closure can be expected
from the intersection with
R540 (Kromdraai Road) as
well as at the intersection
with P74/1 (R563 – Hekpoort
Road),” the department said.
Motorists have been
advised that only residents
will be allowed access during
the period of rehabilitation.
Shamwari to offer guided bush walks
IN 2020, guests at
Shamwari Private Game
Reserve near Port
Elizabeth, South Africa,
will be able to undertake
guided bush walks with
San hunter-gatherers as
their guides.
Dates for the specialised
Explorer trails are: January
28 to 29, January 31 to
February 1, April 14 to 15,
and April 17 to 18.
Pairs of Ju/’hoansi
trackers from Nyae Nyae in
north-east Namibia will join
Shamwari guides for the
bush walks. According to a
statement from Shamwari,
the Ju/’hoansi are the
last of the San people in
Southern Africa who still
command the full suite of
hunter-gatherer skills.
“They track and hunt
with bow and poisoned
arrow, and the fittest
among them engage in
persistence hunting –
pursuing an animal until
it drops from exhaustion.
They have extraordinary
ability, passed from
generation to generation
for tens of thousands of
years, to track wildlife
across almost any terrain,
interpreting the animal
behaviour as they go,” the
statement says.
In January 2020, two
Master Trackers: /
ui-Kxunta and /ui-G/aqo
will join Shamwari’s own
rangers on the first trail,
limited to a maximum
of six guests on each
excursion.
Other trackers, such as
Dam Debe, who played
a cameo part in the film
The Gods Must be Crazy,
will be on later trails.
Along with tracking,
demonstrations of firelighting skills and bowand-arrow performances
will also be shown. The
guests themselves will
also be allowed to attempt
tracking, archery, and rock
art interpretations.
