Glencairn Wetland is a small

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

on the

Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula ( af, Kaapse Skiereiland) is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of ...

, in the southern areas of Greater Cape Town,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Located next to the village of Glencairn, this reserve protects the indigenous Cape wetland of the lower Else River, with its abundance of plant and animal life. The wetland is managed by the City of Cape Town with local volunteers, and it now includes a figure-of-eight system of footpaths, with hiking trails and stepping stones to cross waterways. Several

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

species can be seen here and this is a popular site for

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and school excursions. The

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

life, including otter, mongoose and porcupine, is mostly nocturnal and rarely seen. Small reptiles such as the

angulate tortoise The angulate tortoise (''Chersina angulata'') is a species of tortoise found in dry areas and coastal scrubland, scrub vegetation in South Africa. This tortoise is the monotypic, only known member of the genus ''Chersina''. Name and taxonomy Thi ...

, the marsh terrapin and a range of snakes and lizards are also found here. Amphibian life includes a wide range of species such as the endangered

western leopard toad The western leopard toad (''Sclerophrys pantherina'') is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. The species is endemic to the low-lying areas of the Cape Peninsula, the Cape Flats and the Agulhas flats of the Western Cape, South Africa. Popu ...

, the arum lily frog, the

Cape river frog The Cape river frog (''Amietia fuscigula'') is a species of frog in the Family (biology), family Pyxicephalidae named for the Cape of Good Hope. Formerly, it was placed in the family Ranidae. It occurs widely in the Eastern Cape and Western Cap ...

and the clicking stream frog.

References

{{Reflist Nature reserves in Cape Town Protected areas of the Western Cape

See also

References