Notes from a visit to Kosierskraal Game Farm (Agulhas Plain, Western Cape, South Africa) in 2001, part 2

...continued from https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/milewski/80491-notes-from-a-visit-to-kosierskraal-game-farm-agulhas-plain-western-cape-south-africa-in-2001#

DISCUSSION

I find scant reference to Kosierskraal on the Web today, suggesting that the game farm is now defunct, at least as a tourist-attraction.

However, it is now one of the sites for the quagga re-breeding project (https://www.quaggaproject.org/ and https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/113812038 and https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/115584188). This is confirmed by https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/101930627), despite the misspelling 'Coetzeekraal'.

Kosierskraal is, indeed, one of three locations for the quagga re-breeding project, in and near the Agulhas Plain:

Nuwejaars wetland (https://nuwejaars.com/ and https://www.6000.co.za/tag/nuwejaars-wetlands/), on the Agulhas Plain, south of Kosierskraal:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/101322717
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/20161644
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/108503112

Northwest of Napier, on the other side of Soetmuisberg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napier,_South_Africa) :

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/115898967

The special interest of this region, for me, was the combination of fynbos (which is regarded as unpalatable and unproductive for large animals) and the incidence of considerable populations of wild ungulates in prehistoric times on the Agulhas Plain.

It is remarkable that the ungulates at Kosierskraal showed no interest in supplementary nutrients, in the form of lick-blocks, despite resorting to osteophagy. Furthermore, melanism in the common eland seems to indicate the opposite of the expected deficiency in copper.

In July 2001, I received an email from Mick D'alton, summarising what he later told me in person:
"During times of drought and subsequent food shartage in the past, we have experienced mortalities among the eland and bontebok in particular. All investigations have concluded that death was from high internal parasite infestations, without identifying a cause for the infestation. As copper shortage was suggested as a contributing factor, I tried on many occasions - without success - to get them to take a copper lick, both in block and powder form. So, to date there has been no mineral supplementation".

I was also surprised that

• the black wildebeest fared as well as it did, given that the Agulhas Plain is far from its recent distribution, and
• the bontebok fared poorly, despite this being its typical habitat.

The black wildebeest at Kosierskraal foraged mainly on previously cultivated land. However, it remained true that, over a considerable period here, it was actually the black wildebeest that fared better than the truly indigenous bontebok - as tested by the lack of forage of quality during drought, and parasites.

I infer the possibility that these two alcelaphin grazers competed with each other, to the detriment of the bontebok. I suspect that, if Mick D'alton had not introduced the black wildebeest, the bontebok might have fared well at Kosierskraal.

It is clear that the common eland fares well on the coastal plains of the southwestern Cape, even when its original seasonal movements are no longer possible. Furthermore, it grows to its full genetic potential here, in contrast to populations conserved in the Drakensberg (https://hikingthedrakensberg.blogspot.com/2017/09/wildlife-of-drakensberg-story-of-eland.html and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drakensberg), where stunted-looking individuals have been typical (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/64785188 and https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/10007389 and https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/11332783 and https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/92906834).

Another surprise was that, even in the Fynbos biome, and even south of Bredasdorp, Trinervitermes is an important ('herbivorous') termite, capable of supporting the largest specialised termitophage on Earth, the aardwolf. (Please see https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/milewski/59182-comparisons-of-termites-and-termite-eating-animals-in-africa-and-australia-part-1#.)

This seems linked to ungulates, in the sense that Trinervitermes depends on the mildness of the fire regime. Under a regime of occasional, intense wildfire, the termitaria are destroyed, and graminoids, particularly grasses, are excluded.

Posted on June 18, 2023 01:21 AM by milewski