Mkhambathi Nature Reserve (or Mkambati Nature Reserve) is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

at Lusikisiki in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

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 ...

. It is , with the

Pondoland Marine Protected Area The Pondoland Marine Protected Area is an inshore conservation region in the territorial waters of South Africa. History The MPA was proclaimed by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, in Government Ga ...

off its coastal edge. The reserve is located in the

Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism The Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism is situated in the coastal region overlapping the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape in South Africa. It is named after Pondoland and falls within the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot. The regio ...

and the greater Maputaland–Pondoland–Albany Hotspot, and is covered in open grassland, dotted with patches of indigenous forest, swamp forests and flanked by the forested ravines of the Msikaba and Mtentu rivers.

Biodiversity

Amphibians

Amphibians occur in the coastal region of the reserve. *

Bush squeaker The bush squeaker (''Arthroleptis wahlbergii'') is a species of frog in the family Arthroleptidae. It is found along the coastal areas of eastern South Africa and possibly Mozambique. Habitat Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry ...

* Forest tree frog * Knysna leaf-folding frog * Natal chirping frog *

Plaintive rain frog The plaintive rain frog or rough rain frog (''Breviceps verrucosus'') is a species of frog in the family Brevicipitidae. It is found in Lesotho, South Africa, and Eswatini. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, dry savanna, temperate shrubl ...

* Yellow-striped reed frog

Birds

The reserve has a large colony (400–800 individuals) of Cape vulture (a threatened species). *

African finfoot The African finfoot (''Podica senegalensis'') is an aquatic bird from the family Heliornithidae (the finfoots and sungrebe). The species lives in the rivers and lakes of western, central, and southern Africa. Description The African finfoot is ...

African grass owl The African grass owl (''Tyto capensis'') is a species of owl in the barn owl family, Tytonidae. Description The African grass owl resembles the barn owl and has a heart shaped whitish-cream facial disc, with a narrow yellowish-buff rim which ...

* Black-bellied bustard *

Black-bellied starling The black-bellied starling (''Notopholia corusca'') is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in Eswatini, Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zim ...

Black-rumped buttonquail The black-rumped buttonquail (''Turnix nanus'') is a small species of bird in the buttonquail family. Description This species has a brown back, rufous chest, and pale belly, brown irises and a black rump. As usual for buttonquails but not for ...

Black-winged lapwing The black-winged lapwing or greater black-winged lapwing (''Vanellus melanopterus'') is an east African species that is found from the Ethiopian highlands in the north to central Kenya (race ''V. m. melanopterus''), and again at middle to coasta ...

* Broad-tailed warbler *

Brown scrub robin The brown scrub robin (''Cercotrichas signata'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Eswatini, Mozambique and, South Africa. Its natural habitat is subtropical dry or moist forest A forest is an area of land do ...

Buff-streaked chat The buff-streaked chat or buff-streaked bushchat (''Campicoloides bifasciatus'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Lesotho, South Africa, and Eswatini. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry lowland gra ...

* Cape cormorant * Cape vulture *

Chorister robin-chat The chorister robin-chat (''Cossypha dichroa'') (previously known as the chorister robin) is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in South Africa and Eswatini. Its distribution stretches from the southern Western Cape through ...

* Corn crake * Crowned eagle *

Denham's bustard Denham's bustard, Stanley bustard or Stanley's bustard (''Neotis denhami'') is a large bird in the bustard family. It breeds in much of Sub-Saharan Africa. It is a species of open ground, including agricultural land, grassland, flood-plains and ...

* Grey crowned crane *

Grey sunbird The grey sunbird or mouse-coloured sunbird (''Cyanomitra verreauxii'') is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is found in Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, and Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially th ...

Gurney's sugarbird Gurney's sugarbird (''Promerops gurneyi'') is a medium-sized passerine endemic to the mid- and high-altitude grassland velds in southern Africa. It belongs to the family Promeropidae, which contains one genus, ''Promerops'', and two species. Gur ...

Half-collared kingfisher The half-collared kingfisher (''Alcedo semitorquata'') is a kingfisher in the subfamily Alcedininae that is found in southern and eastern Africa. It feeds almost exclusively on fish and frequents streams, rivers and larger bodies of water. The h ...

Knysna woodpecker The Knysna woodpecker (''Campethera notata'') is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is endemic to South Africa, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, moist savanna, and subtropical or tropical mois ...

Olive sunbird The olive sunbird (''Cyanomitra olivacea'') is a species of sunbird found in a large part of Africa south of the Sahel. It prefers forested regions, and is absent from drier, more open regions such as the Horn of Africa and most of south-central ...

Southern ground hornbill The southern ground hornbill (''Bucorvus leadbeateri''; formerly known as ''Bucorvus cafer'') is one of two species of ground hornbill, both of which are found solely within Africa, and is the largest species in the hornbill order worldwide. It ...

Spotted ground thrush The spotted ground thrush (''Geokichla guttata'') is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, and possibly Mozambique. Description These birds a ...

Striped flufftail The striped flufftail (''Sarothrura affinis'') is a species of bird in the flufftail family Sarothruridae. It is also known as the red-tailed flufftail. The species is closely related to the Madagascar flufftail. The species has a disjunct distr ...

Swamp nightjar The swamp nightjar or Natal nightjar (''Caprimulgus natalensis'') is a crepuscular and nocturnal bird in the nightjar family found in Africa. Distribution and habitat It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Republic of the Cong ...

White-backed night heron The white-backed night heron (''Gorsachius leuconotus'') is a species of medium-sized heron in the family Ardeidae, found in sub-Saharan Africa. Taxonomy The German naturalist Johann Wagler described the white-backed night heron as ''Ardea leu ...

Mammals

* Chacma baboon *

Black-backed jackal The black-backed jackal (''Lupulella mesomelas),'' also called the silver-backed jackal, is a medium-sized canine native to eastern and southern Africa. These regions are separated by roughly 900 kilometers. One region includes the southe ...

Bushbuck The Cape bushbuck (''Tragelaphus sylvaticus'') is a common and a widespread species of antelope in sub-Saharan Africa.Wronski T, Moodley Y. (2009)Bushbuck, harnessed antelope or both? ''Gnusletter'', 28(1):18-19. Bushbuck are found in a wide ra ...

Eland Eland may refer to: Animals *''Taurotragus'', a genus of antelope ** Common eland of East and Southern Africa ** Giant eland of Central and Western Africa Places * Eland, Wisconsin, United States * An old spelling of Elland, West Yorkshire * Ela ...

Southern reedbuck The southern reedbuck, rietbok or common reedbuck (''Redunca arundinum'') is a diurnal antelope typically found in southern Africa. It was first described by Pieter Boddaert, a Dutch physician and naturalist, in 1785. It is placed in the genus ...

* Common duiker *

Zulu golden mole The Zulu golden mole (''Amblysomus hottentotus iris'') is a golden mole native to Transvaal, South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded t ...

* Forest shrew *

Least dwarf shrew The least dwarf shrew (''Suncus infinitesimus'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, and Uganda. ...

Reptiles

* Natal black snake * Southern brown egg eater * Variable legless skink

Vegetation

There is an abundance of endemic plants found in the

Pondoland Pondoland or Mpondoland (Xhosa: ''EmaMpondweni''), is a natural region on the South African shores of the Indian Ocean. It is located in the coastal belt of the Eastern Cape province. Its territory is the former Mpondo Kingdom of the Mpondo peopl ...

landscape of the reserve, including the endemic false water-berry, '' Rhynchocalyx lawsonioides''. The Pondo palm is only found in this region, growing along the banks of the Msikaba and Mtentu rivers. Gurney's sugarbird can be found in protea bushes. Broad-tailed warblers can be found in marshland.

Threats

The endemic plants in the reserve face threats from fire as a consequence of poaching game, and of pervading

invasive Invasive may refer to: *Invasive (medical) procedure *Invasive species *Invasive observation, especially in reference to surveillance *Invasively progressive spread of disease from one organ in the body to another, especially in reference to cancer ...

alien plants like: * Black wattle *

Guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...

* Tickberry * Triffid weed

Gallery

File:Brunsvigia grandiflora S-1737.jpg,

Brunsvigia ''Brunsvigia'' is a genus of African flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. It contains about 20 species native to southeastern and southern Africa from Tanzania to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. Descripti ...

grandiflora File:Watsonia pillansii S-3445.jpg, Watsonia pillansii File:Protea caffra suffrutex form S-2922.jpg, Protea caffra File:Brunia trigyna S-2970.jpg, Brunia trygyna. A species on the brink of extinction. The only remaining plant in the Mkhambathi Nature Reserve.

References

Nature reserves in South Africa Protected areas of the Eastern Cape 2009 establishments in South Africa Protected areas established in 2009 {{EasternCape-geo-stub