Five new contract positions are being funded by the JRS Biodiversity Foundation as part of a new project to enhance biodiversity data management, including data collation, data cleaning and data sharing. The Bioinformatics and Science Manager is based at the Cape Research Centre in Cape Town for two years and will ensure that the project…
If you see an otter or an otter sees you or tries to interact with you, please move away from it. Give the otter a large area and keep a safe distance while taking photos and enjoying the privileged moment. This is for the sake of the otter and for preserving our wildlife. One of…
On the rocky shore, seagulls play in the bright blue sky, the salty sea spray splashes the bright shiny rocks, the sand squishes between the toes. The rocky shore is peaceful, and quiet. On the rocky shore, the seaweed crawls up the sand like green fingers trying to escape the frothy sea. The sun dries…
In January 2021, I received a phone call from SANParks to inform me that my application for the WWF Environmental Leader’s internship program was successful. I was excited to have landed an opportunity to work and get practical experience aligned with my academic background and career goals. I graduated with a Master of Science in…
The short film, The Ghosts of Table Mountain, was recently released and stars SANParks’ very own Ruth-Mary Fisher. The film highlights the novelty and plight of the Critically Endangered Table Mountain ghost frog, Heleophryne rosei, and the collaborative effort that is being undertaken to restore the freshwater ecosystems that are critical to the ghost frog’s…
In the long-term success of any invasive alien plant control programme, recognition and management of the main pathways of dispersal is critical. Other than the use of alien plants for ornamental purposes, which was shown to be the main introduction pathway into Kruger National Park (KNP) in the past, the invasion of riparian habitats is…
The future challenge in many areas of invasive alien plant control however lies in integrating biological, chemical, and other control operations, to maximise the benefit and cost effectiveness of overall control efforts. Management plans also now recognise the role that people have played in the introduction and spread of IAPs. One study showed that in…
Classical biological control has also been used as one of the KNPs invasive alien plant management tools. Host specific insects are collected from the country of origin of the invasive alien plant and tested under quarantine conditions to be specific to the host/ target alien plant, and, if successful, are approved for release by relevant…
In 1985 ten species were thought to have been successfully eradicated, with the eradication of a further 14 species considered possible. However, one of these plants was again found in Skukuza as recently as 1998, 17 years after its ‘eradication’, thus illustrating that ongoing control efforts are often needed for many years. Whether failure to…
The JRS Biodiversity Foundation has awarded SANParks a grant extension of US$ 498,100 (~R 7,500,000) to expand existing bioinformatics work. This grant builds on good biodiversity data foundations in SANParks, enabling a transition to the digital data commons. It will allow access to the latest software and interfaces to improve knowledge collation and data sharing…
The media often portrays fires in and around our national parks with pictures of roaring blazes and firefighters. These stories convey loss, destruction and threat to vegetation, property and human life, and a goal of suppressing fires at all cost. But fires are also natural and vital components of these ecosystems. Fire will continue to…
It has been generally accepted that many marine fish species, including spotted grunter, make annual migrations from the southern Cape up into KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) waters to reproduce. This tactic has advantages in that the eggs and larvae can develop in warmer waters whilst the Agulhas current transports them back down the coastline and into more…