Ndumo Game Reserve is a small () South African
game reserve
A game reserve (also known as a wildlife preserve or a game park) is a large area of land where wild animals live safely or are hunted in a controlled way for sport. If hunting is prohibited, a game reserve may be considered a nature reserve; ...
located in the far northeast district of
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
known as
Maputaland
Maputaland is a natural region of Southern Africa. It is located in the northern part of the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa between Eswatini and the coast. In a wider sense it may also include the southernmost region of Mozambique. The bi ...
. It is situated on the border with
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
where the
Pongola River
The Phongolo River is a river in South Africa. It is a tributary of the Maputo River. It rises near Utrecht in northern KwaZulu-Natal, flows east through Pongolo, is dammed at Pongolapoort, and crosses the Ubombo Mountains; then it flows north ...
joins the
Great Usutu River
The Maputo River (Portuguese ''Rio Maputo''), also called Great Usutu River, Lusutfu River, or Suthu River, is a river in South Africa, Eswatini, and Mozambique. The name ''Suthu'' refers to Basotho people who lived near the source of the river, ...
. It is adjacent to the
Tembe Elephant Park
Tembe Elephant Park is a 30 012 ha game reserve in Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is adjacent to Ndumo Game Reserve.
The park was developed by Tembe Tribal Authority and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.
It was established in 1983 to protect ...
. Ndumo is relatively remote, being over from
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
. The town of
Mkuze
Mkuze, also named Mkhuze or uMkhuze is a small town in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is located approximately 350 km from the city of Durban. It is along the N2 road en route to Johannesburg, Eswatini and Mozambique; between the Mk ...
is away.
Ndumo hosts a diverse range of habitats including sand forest, dense riverine forest, floodplains, alluvial plains, reedbeds, grassland, broad-leaved and acacia woodlands and extremely dense
thornveld. Ndumo is popular for its birdlife and despite its small size, the reserve has recorded in excess of 430 bird species including residents and seasonal migrants. The park's abundance of pans, floodplains and rivers (Pongola & Usutu) provide suitable habitat for many aquatic species. The Maputaland area in general is relatively rich in birdlife due to ecosystem diversity as well as its geographical location: the area forms the southernmost range for a great many eastern and north-eastern African bird species. The area receives a high annual rainfall.
A short list of sought-after bird species resident to Ndumo:
*
Pel's fishing owl
Pel's fishing owl (''Scotopelia peli'') is a large species of owl in the family Strigidae. The species is found in Africa and lives near rivers and lakes. It feeds nocturnally on fish and frogs snatched from the surface of lakes and rivers. The ...
*
Narina trogon
__NOTOC__
The Narina trogon (''Apaloderma narina'') is a largely green and red, medium-sized (32–34 cm long), bird of the family Trogonidae. It is native to forests and woodlands of the Afrotropics. Though it is the most widespread and cat ...
*
African broadbill
The African broadbill (''Smithornis capensis''), also known as the black-capped broadbill or Delacour's broadbill, is a species of bird in the sub-oscine family Calyptomenidae.
Description
The African broadbill is a boldly streaked, largely br ...
*
Eastern nicator
The eastern nicator (''Nicator gularis'') is a species of songbird in the family Nicatoridae.
It is found in Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or trop ...
(formerly "yellow-spotted nicator" but this name is now given to another bird, the
western nicator
The western nicator (''Nicator chloris'') is a species of songbird in the family Nicatoridae.
Description
It is very similar to the eastern nicator
The eastern nicator (''Nicator gularis'') is a species of songbird in the family Nicatoridae. ...
)
*
African cuckoo-hawk
Large mammals found in Ndumo include
nyala
The lowland nyala or simply nyala (''Tragelaphus angasii'') is a spiral-horned antelope native to southern Africa. It is a species of the family Bovidae and genus ''Tragelaphus'', previously placed in genus ''Nyala''. It was first described i ...
,
hippopotamus
The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...
,
Nile crocodile
The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the central, eastern ...
,
impala
The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'') is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'' and tribe Aepycerotini, it was first described to European audiences by Germa ...
and
Cape buffalo. Big cats are absent from the park. Elephants are prolific at the neighbouring
Tembe Elephant Park
Tembe Elephant Park is a 30 012 ha game reserve in Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is adjacent to Ndumo Game Reserve.
The park was developed by Tembe Tribal Authority and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.
It was established in 1983 to protect ...
.
As with all parts of Maputaland,
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
is endemic and visitors are advised to take the proper precautions.
There is an
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is a governmental organisation responsible for maintaining wildlife conservation areas and biodiversity in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Their headquarters is in Queen Elizabeth Park situated on the northern slopes o ...
campsite and hutted camp.
This park is to be included into the:
Usuthu-Tembe-Futi Transfrontier Conservation Area
Usuthu-Tembe-Futi Transfrontier Conservation Area is a group of protected areas in southern Africa, straddling parts of South Africa, Mozambique and Eswatini, including the following:
* Maputo Special Reserve (Mozambique).
* The Futi Corridor (M ...
.
Displacement of Indigenous Peoples
In 1924, the area that is now the Ndumo Game Reserve was declared to be a protected area by South Africa. In the 1950s and 60s, the local inhabitants were forcibly evicted from their native lands. Although the Ndumo communities legally contested their right to the land, they were denied the right to resettle the land, instead given financial restitution and (in theory) a say in management. One resident says of this period of time:
There we were rich; we ate sweet potatoes, bananas, madumbe oot vegetable cassava and pumpkins. We drank from the Usuthu River. Today that river is reserved for the hippos and crocodiles while our children die from drought. The wild fruits are left to fatten the monkeys, and the rhinos graze on the graves of our ancestors.
The unresolved dispute over control of this land, and ongoing issues with Community Based Natural Resource Management as a conservation model in the province (Meer 2010), has resulted in the anomalous situation that the eastern part of this declared provincial game reserve is now occupied and farmed by locals. This is despite its status as a Ramsar wetland of international importance, declared in 1997. Farmland is replacing the indigenous vegetation and wildlife, and crocodiles no longer nest along the river.
References
* Meer, T. 2010. Finding the community in community-base natural resource management: the case of Ndumo Game Reserve, South Africa. MA Thesis, Dalhousie University.
* Wesołowska, W. & Haddad, Ch.R. 2009. Jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) of the Ndumo Game Reserve, Maputaland, South Africa. ''
African Invertebrates
''African Invertebrates'' is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal that covers the taxonomy, systematics, biogeography, ecology, conservation, and palaeontology of Afrotropical invertebrates, whether terrestrial, freshwater, or marine. I ...
'' 50 (1): 13-10
External links
Ezemvelo KZN WildlifeWilderness Safaris
{{Authority control
Maputaland coastal forest mosaic
Maputo River
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Parks
Ramsar sites in South Africa