SANParks.org Forums

I was watching the pictures of the awesome power of nature during the recent floods, when something just came up.
Nature has destroyed trees in which there were nests, sandbanks were demolished where water monitors had their dens, sand, where crocodiles laid their eggs are gone, but with all the destruction, new life and habitats were created.
Look at the picture of the Kanniedood dam and see how the water bypassed the wall and carved a path through the bank.
Immediately I saw the opportunity for bee eaters to occupy those banks and create new colonies.
This may become a new hot spot to watch the bee-eaters.
What about new sandbanks where there were none.
An ideal place for crocs and birds to make their nests.
All the driftwood and other debris that piled up against the trees and other obstacles will create new mini-ecosystems.
And so the list continues.

Nature sometimes destructs but always leave something else in its place.

That is so true Rooies they say their is always a light at the end of a tunnel sometimes we don't always see it immediately but it is their

True Rooies, this cycle has been going on for thousands of years.

Rooies,

So true.
It's when Man gets involved that the ireppearable damage happens

....and to continue. Old nests, dens and caves become infested with ticks, lice and fleas. Anthrax gather and concentrate in old stagnant pools. Fish gets trapped in pools and during times of drought, seeds and pips don't get dispersed.

But then comes the Big Cleaner. The old nests are demolished which forces the birds to start afresh. The old caves and burrows collapse. New pools are created which will draw birds, mammals and fish. The mighty old fig tree that was uprooted ends up on the banks of the river, an ideal place for the Kingfishers from which to launch their attacks on the newly hatched fish. Sand banks that were overgrown with reeds and shrubs get swiped clean and again becomes nesting sites for plovers and other water birds. Seeds are carried away by the water only to settle somewhere else to start a new riparian woodland. Old dead trees will fall over and fill the soil with nutrients which will help the new trees to grow.

Despite the millions of rands in damages to man and his creations, there is still something to cheer about.

Yes what you write is so true. Thank you, I was so sad to see the destruction at Shingwetsi, but you reminded us there is always hope for a new begining

What you say is true, Rooies.
Even though I know it is the way nature works, I still struggle to come to terms with the fact that some ancient trees next to the Shingwedzi river which I have admired my whole life are probably gone .
Our insignificantly short human lives are not in sync with the slow passage of time in the natural world.
In eons past, the Shingwedzi area has probably flooded like this hundreds of times.
Ancient trees washed away many times, only to be replaced in the next 100 years by new ones.
What is so sad is that we will not live long enough to again see these riverine forests in the same state as it was before this flood.

And it's not just floods, the people in the Cape will tell you it's the same with fire as well. some of the protea seeds need to be burned to germinate.

Ecologically, this is fantastic. Sure, a few animals etc. perished, but the mid- to longterm effect should be rejuvenatiing.

Johan

If an elephant digs around Shingwedzi in September after a very dry few months, will water be found as a result of this flood?

What are the long term effects of such a flood long term? Increased mosquitoes numbers this year what with stagnant water being left as the water drains, a longer period of greenery in local areas even into the dry season, new trees etc? Would be interesting to find out.

We stayed in Letaba, Melville on the nights of the 19th and 20th January and we saw the Letaba River rise and bursting past the house rapidly transporting large stumps and trees with it and it was just bewildering amazing. -I think a once in a life-time experience.
I personally only know the Letaba River as tame and here and there streams or rather pools of water, never angry.
On the morning of the 21st around 5 we could not see the electric fence anymore as it was under water.
I am very sorry for all the damage and those affected but I guess the title of Rooies’ thread is making sense “New life after destruction” as it is part of the cycles of life and nature.

Like your post Rooies
Nature is always evolving and this will lead to habitats being destroyed but always new ones created

Rooies....wonderfull to see it in this light....new smiles to new systems and new life

It's really natures spring cleaning.
Washing away all the muck that has accumulated since the 2000 floods on the river bank and spreading new rich soil all over the show for the plants to germinate.

Example: that fever tree that was on it's last leg but still hanging on causing no new trees to grow under it, has now been washed way and in 2 years time you have a whole new forest of little fever trees.

I even take my theory to the point were maybe this is what some tree need to create a new population.
I see it with the Baobab you can classify them in the same ago groups.
There are very few young ones around if the elephants don't eat the fruit the baboons and monkeys get them. Now all those seeds for this season is under a few inches of mud and maybe that's just what they need to survive and create another generation.

The elephants are already licking their lips!

Johan