Witzands Aquifer Nature Reserve is a protected natural area in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

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 on the city's northern outskirts. This reserve protects an important part of Cape Town's natural and cultural heritage, including the Atlantis Aquifer. It is adjacent to the

Koeberg Nature Reserve Koeberg nuclear power station is a nuclear power station in South Africa. It is currently the only one on the entire African continent. It is located 30 km north of Cape Town, near Melkbosstrand on the west coast of South Africa. Koeberg ...

Biodiversity

The conservation area consists of two priority nature sites, the Silwerstroomstrand Conservation Area and the Atlantis Dunefields. They protect a patch of

Atlantis Sand Fynbos Atlantis Sand Fynbos is a critically endangered fynbos vegetation type that occurs to the north of Cape Town, in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is listed as critically endangered as it is home to a great many threatened Red List species.http: ...

vegetation type, as well as

Cape Flats Dune Strandveld Cape Flats Dune Strandveld is an endangered vegetation type. This is a unique type of Cape Strandveld that is endemic to the coastal areas around Cape Town, including the Cape Flats. Habitat ''Strandveld'' means “beach scrub” in the Afrikaans ...

. Both vegetation types are

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

. The local landscape consists of sandy beaches, rocky shorelines and outcrops, as well as mobile dunes. Among the many animals that can be found in this reserve is the globally threatened

black harrier The black harrier (''Circus maurus'') is a medium-sized African Harrier (bird), harrier whose range extends from South Africa to Botswana and Namibia. It has a wingspan of and a body length of . When perched, this bird appears all black. However, ...

, the

caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...

, the

steenbok The steenbok (''Raphicerus campestris'') is a common small antelope of southern and eastern Africa. It is sometimes known as the steinbuck or steinbok. Description Steenbok resemble small oribi, standing 45–60 cm (16"–24") at the ...

, the

Cape grysbok The Cape or southern grysbok (''Raphicerus melanotis'') is a small antelope that is endemic to the Western Cape region of South Africa between Albany and the Cederberg mountains. Description left, Illustrated in ''The Book of Antelopes'' (18 ...

and a variety of other mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.

Vegetation

The endemic and vulnerable ''

Leucospermum parile ''Leucospermum parile'' is a rounded shrub, of up to 1½ m (6 ft) high that is assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has narrow, grey felty leaves of about 2 cm (2 in) long and 7 mm (0.28 in) wide, with rich yellow, globu ...

'' is found in the Atlantis Sand Fynbos region. And the critically endangered Erica margaritacea is also found here. * Bokbaaivygie (''

Cleretum bellidiforme ''Cleretum bellidiforme'', commonly called Livingstone daisy, ''Bokbaaivygie'' (Afrikaans), or Buck Bay Mesembryanthemum, vygie, is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Aizoaceae, native plant, native to the Cape Peninsula ...

'') * Dune reed (''

Thamnochortus ''Thamnochortus'' is a group of plants in the Restionaceae described as a genus in 1767.Bergius, Peter Jonas. 1767. Descriptiones Plantarum ex Capite Bonae Spei 353 The entire genus is endemic to Cape Province in South Africa South Africa ...

spicigerus'') * Lanceleaf sage ('' Salvia lanceolata'') * Sand primrose (''

Grielum grandiflorum ''Grielum'' is a genus of four accepted species of plants in the family Neuradaceae. They are low-growing annual herbs endemic to dry regions, mainly in Western South Africa and Namibia. Description The genus comprises annual dwarf herbs with ...

'') * Strandroos (''

Limonium ''Limonium'' is a genus of 120 flowering plant species. Members are also known as sea-lavender, statice, caspia or marsh-rosemary. Despite their common names, species are not related to the lavenders or to rosemary. They are instead in Plumbag ...

peregrinum'')

Mammals

There are possible 83 species of mammal that occur in the reserve, with 16 endemic to South Africa. The endangered

white-tailed rat The white-tailed rat (''Mystromys albicaudatus'') also known as the white-tailed mouse, is the only member of the subfamily Mystromyinae in the family Nesomyidae. This species is sometimes placed in the subfamily Cricetinae due to similarities ...

is found here. *

Cape dune mole-rat The Cape dune mole-rat (''Bathyergus suillus'') is a species of solitary burrowing rodent in the family Bathyergidae. It is endemic to South Africa and named for the Cape of Good Hope. Description The Cape dune mole-rat is the largest of all t ...

* Cape grysbok * Caracal *

Small grey mongoose The Cape grey mongoose (''Herpestes pulverulentus''), also called the small grey mongoose, is a small mammal native to South Africa, Lesotho and southern Namibia. Appearance It is a small species (55–69 cm long, weight range 0.5 – 1 ...

* Steenbok

Recreation

The conservation area is host to various recreational activities, including sand-boarding, camping and whale watching, and the reserve is also used for film shoots, quad biking and picnics.

External links

Atlantis Dunes Adventure Guide

References

{{Cape Town, natural Nature reserves in Cape Town Protected areas of the Western Cape

Biodiversity

Vegetation

Mammals

Recreation

See also

External links

References