SANParks.org Forums

Hi Casius.

Thanks for your reply. Presumably you speak on behalf of SANparks.  

I don't think that the problem is difficult to solve, given that these animals are an asset to the owners and if they were not safe in the park, the owners would not allow them to wonder into the park. So the trick is to compromise the safety of the animals by confiscation or other means. So much money has  been spent on inefficient fences. A small kraal will do and feed can be brought in and financed via fines claimed from impounded cattle.

If it is true that there are lions in the park then the cattle must be protected by the owners who are probably armed and hiding in the bushes. Scary to say the least!!!

Grazing ones livestock on someone else's land is theft, in this case of the most valuable resource in the area next to water, feed!  People who are foolish to leave their property lying around deserve to have it stolen. I am not advocating theft but confiscation. 

I appreciate that it is a difficult problem to solve and that there are complications re impounding and so on. I detect your frustration  in the tone of your reply and have some empathy. Clearly this is  more complex than it appears from my perspective as a visitor to the reserve. It does require tough decision making. 

 I do recommend  that via your web site the public should be advised that there are cattle in the reserve so that they are informed. It will deter some from visiting but not all as evidenced by the participants of this thread. 

I look froward to the implementation of the trans frontier park. It will hopefully solve the problem. 

The MoU towards the TFCA at Mapungubwe was signed 5 years back and yet no treaty was signed. Will this dream ever come true? The fact that cattle are still found in the area means no plans have been made in the past 5 years to relocate the cattle and the electric fence donated is not working. It will be interesting to get more feedback on progress so far to get the treaty in place and what solution / alternative will be given to the Maramani community so that their land can be incorporated into the park for game and not cattle.

See quote below from Peace Park Foundation for background on the process up to 2009.

No one said that gmlsmit. Please read again.

This topic is about cattle in Mapungubwe.

Quote "To me the cattle in the river is a part of the character of Mapungubwe".

May not be exactly what had been posted but quite close.

To just kindly clear my misunderstanding the above quote - do you then agree that stray cattle should not be allowed in a National Park, and if this happens the required preventative action should be taken.

Yes, I have not agreed that stray cattle in the park is a good thing. Only that it is a part of the reality created when you have elephant moving through fences on a regular basis. (I have even seen elephant within the sections where they are being camped out to protect the riverine forest - but that is another story.)

The river is an international border with cattle being part of the cultural landscape on the other side. It is impossible to place a fence down the centre of the river. So until they are fenced out on the other side you will have cattle in the river. Not ideal, but I can live with that. As I said, that is part of the character of the park, and it reminds me of the ancient civilisation which once flourished there. In fact, it is probably some of their descendants still living in that area.

I am as concerned about the cattle in the park, especially since it seems to be increasing. If a blind eye is turned intentionally to this, I would be very unhappy. But if it is managed in a positive way, then I can accept the situation as being simply the realities of the current given situation.



The ideal situation would still be ... no mine ... no cattle ... no humans (which is also often seen in the river) ... no fence ... and sitting alone looking over that beautiful place where rocks are artworks.

Thanks, then we agree that cattle are undesirable and should not be allowed in a National Park.

It was posted earlier that an agreement regarding the TFP was reached more than five years ago, maybe SANParks should now address this issue and take steps to not allow/have cattle in the Parks. Fences are not required, it is the responsibility of the owner to keep them from entering the Park, if they enter the Park, confiscate them - this will soon have the desired effect,.

Just came across this interesting/frustrating topic. Have not been to Mapungubwe myself, but would not bother to go there myself till matters improve, even though I love Limpopo and Zim so much...

I don't think this is a unique problem, have seen big herds of cattle in Lekgalameetse NR near Tzaneen, and last year a fair number of fat Afrikaner cattle in Golden Gate NP, plus a herd of at least 70 donkeys grazing in GGNP right next to the road! Surely these animals have not strayed from Lesotho....

I do sympathize with the authorities who have this fine balancing act between fed up tourists and angry locals -- lets encourage them and stay positive, and not start labelling people as `purists' etc. in a derogatory way -- that doesn't solve problems!

Hope to see Mapungubwe one day, IF the mines, cattle and goats don't destroy it first!

God bless,

Friedrich von Hörsten

ps If you go to Ngorongoro Crater, don't be horrified to see a few Masaai herders strolling in the crater with their herds of cattle right amongst all those lions! And go to Amboseli NR to see Kilimanjaro and its wildlife, but you may bump into a whole group of warriors running through the veldt, with hyenas and wildlife scattering as they pass! Not a perfect setup, but at least they are trying to save what can be saved (rhinos did not do so well...) and that is a lot better than it could have been.

Here is the park's response as posted by Lesego in another thread.

It's good to read that people who don't like Mapungubwe won't be visiting Mapungubwe!

Friedrich von Hörsten

After reading this I will be one of those who would not consider Mapungubwe as a place to visit in the near future.

So Mapungupwe will be the first Tarangire, in South Africa, this is utterly BS, Next Kruger will have sustainable grazing rights, next, lions are a threat to the herders and their "Livelyhood"

SANParks, make a plan, cause this is leading to disaster.

There is too much conflict, for those of you that talk about Ngorogoro etc. in areas as described. It is not working anywhere else, it wil especially not work here. Daft, shoot the cattle that stray, burn them, and keep the place as nature.

I'm sorry but my pickled intellect seems
too try tell me something!!!

Currently running we have the whole
world at our doorstep,- COP 17 fighting
for a green planet. Great idea. I have
extreme difficulty explaining myself and
get reprimanded for that.,

but as crime conscious we seem to believe
we are, still we leave the backdoor open for
visitors!

Tranfrontier parks leave me wondering though
the idea is great for animal sake!!!

Some time ago someone said," this country will
be right once all has turned grey, by argument"!!!

Then why bother with green.!!!!???