Conservation blogs
Legal implications in terms of invasive alien plant species
The management of alien and invasive plant species can sometimes lead to confusion in terms of applicable legislation. There are two national laws that need to be considered, namely the Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act 43 of 1983 (CARA) and the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004 (NEMBA). All landowners have a responsibility and legal liability in relation to the control of invasive vegetation.
Penguin Palooza 2021 – Celebrating Collaboration
CapeNature and the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) will premiere a virtual celebration of the sixth annual Penguin Palooza on Saturday, 4 December 2021 at 10h00, across the organisations' social media platforms.
Rare plant monitoring at Waterval Nature Reserve
Waterval Nature Reserve is home to an incredible variety of special plant species, one of which is the Critically Endangered Sorocephalus imbricatus. One of the populations is very heavily overgrown with Pinus pinaster.
UPDATE: Western Cape Avian Influenza outbreak and Seal deaths
The outbreak of Avian Influenza amongst wild seabirds in the Western Cape has seen an estimated 21172 dead birds with 13195 birds dying on Dyer Island off Gansbaai. The Cape Cormorant remains most affected with 20558 dead Cape Cormorants recorded to date.
CapeNature’s Stony Point now daily on WildEarth TV
CapeNature’s Stony Point Nature Reserve is one of the latest daily experiences broadcasted by the award winning WildEarth channel. Stony Point is home to one of the largest successful breeding colonies of African penguin in the world with roughly 3 600 African penguins.
UPDATE: Western Cape Avian Influenza outbreak and Seal deaths
The outbreak of Avian Influenza amongst wild seabirds in the Western Cape continues, with Dyer island in the Overberg that continues to be the biggest problem area.
CapeNature and Dyer Island Conservation Trust – Strategic partnership yields multiple conservation benefits in the Overberg region
The African penguin is on the brink of possible extinction in the wild within the next decade. Partnerships are vital in the ongoing effort to stabilise the African penguin population numbers.
UPDATE on Western Cape Avian Influenza
The Western Cape Disaster Management Centre continues to manage an ongoing outbreak of Avian Influenza amongst wild seabirds in the province.
Focus on spiders
Halloween, with its focus on terrifying creatures such as spiders, is just behind us. It’s a good time to think about our attitudes to spiders and some of the reasons to protect rather than kill them.
UPDATE: Western Cape Avian Influenza and dying seals
The Western Cape Disaster Management Centre is aware of reports of dead and dying seals in several areas across the West Coast of the province. Between Laaiplek and Dwarskersbos in the Bergrivier Municipality region, 144 seals were buried this morning with another fifty at Elandsbaai.
Ghosted: First Scientific Record of Albino Honey Badger on De Hoop Nature Reserve
CapeNature granted BirdLife South Africa and Panthera a research permit to undertake a camera trap survey at De Hoop Nature Reserve. Among the images captured was an extremely rare albino honey badger (Mellivora capensis).
UPDATE: Cape Avian Influenza outbreak
Over the past few days, the teams have been seeing on average 400 dead birds per day. This has come down from roughly 700 at the start of this outbreak. It’s still not great but we are grateful for any improvement.