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The birth of a rare black springbok in the early hours of 4 October warranted reams of page space in the local and national press – but remember that he’s not the only noteworthy member of the estate’s vast crew of wild and wonderful creatures.
When a wide-awake resident noticed a new baby buck finding its feet among the Kingswood herd in October, marketing and communications manager Charleen van Wyk at the HOA office was immediately informed of the happy news. Not only was it a joyous spring birthday among the resident herd, but this bokkie came out black – a fact that caught the attention of media houses across the land.
Apart from being announced on national radio stations such as RSG in the days to follow, some reports in the weeks thereafter included that of Kristy Kolberg in George Herald. Her story mentions that black springboks are ‘exceptionally uncommon’ and result from a rare genetic variation.
‘While exact numbers are unknown, they are significantly scarcer than their common counterparts. On Friday 4 October, the golf estate welcomed its “one in a million” – a black springbok calf that was born during the night.’
On Sunday the 6th, Kingswood shared a Facebook post about the birth of the black bokkie, and within minutes, responses brimming with good old South African humour started pouring in. Some of these included:
- ‘Dis nie ’n Springbok nie, dis ’n All Black!’ • ‘That mama has some explaining to do!’ • ‘All Black wat ’n Bok wil wees.’
- ‘Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie …’
- ‘Now you gonna confuse the Springbok supporters. An all-black springbok?’
Providing further background was George-based veteran journo Jackie Kruger, who wrote on the Network24 platform: ‘It’s the first time ever that a black calf has been born here; the colour is attributed to a combination of recessive genes that result in a greater amount of dark pigmentation.
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‘Springboks have been present on the estate for the past seven years. Dan de Wet, Facilities and Compliance Manager of Kingswood Homeowners Association, looks after the springboks and other animals on the golf estate in collaboration with a vet from George Animal Hospital.’
The vet in question, Dr Christiaan Blignault, has been instrumental in guiding wildlife management at Kingswood over the past few years, and during the last week in November ensured that the black springbok baby remained fighting fit by administering a general booster and deworming meds.
‘The colour of the skin is all black except for the white facial stripe running up the front of the nose. The skin fold on the back is usually closed, but when the animal becomes excited it thrusts it open, fanning a length of stiff black hair. Both sexes have horns.’
Too many horns spoil the herd
Kingswood is home to what’s generally known as a ‘bachelor herd’ – a term that usually refers to a group of juvenile male animals that are still sexually immature, or harem-forming animals that have been thrown out of their parent groups but have not yet formed a new family group.
Finally, to quote digital journalist Se-Anne Rall: ‘The Western Cape golf estate boasts a large herd of springbok, often spotted along the property. It is unknown exactly how many black springboks are prancing about in the country due to how rare the genetic variation is.’
In her article, Se-Anne explains that a black springbok is not a subspecies, and goes on to quote experts at Winter Hoek Safaris, who explained that black springboks were developed by selective breeding, and gave a nutshell guide on this rare specimen’s features.
This state of affairs has not been kind to the special baby bokkie at all times, as some of these horny bachelors have been bullying the young ram, necessitating human intervention. But even before his early October arrival, the folk in charge of Kingswood’s animals intervened.
Chairman of KGE’s subcommittee on wildlife management, Pietman van Heerden, explains: ‘We got rid of 11 rams recently, because they started fighting to determine their ranking in the herd. Some months into the new year, we will bring in two new rams to get fresh blood in the herd.’
The rams in question are Damaras – a normal springbok, albeit a bit bigger and more in demand for breeding purposes. ‘In future, when we have to reduce the numbers of the herd again, we will be able to sell them off at a decent price,’ explains Pietman.
On settled herds and other animals
Daniel de Wet, at the helm of Kingswood community services, concurs. ‘Vet Christiaan Blignault has suggested that we wait until the middle of next year to allow the herd to settle. In the meantime, residents can enjoy the sight of our famous free-roaming springboks and the herd’s newest addition.’
Dan adds that there is an increased presence of small game such as bushbuck on the property, resulting from the vast Mediclinic property development cutting off some corridors on the KGE boundary.
‘This creates added opportunities to view the wildlife that calls Kingswood home. Apart from the added number of bushbuck, residents have been spotting clawless otters and water mongoose in the vicinity of the estate’s many waterways.’
Porcupine have made their presence felt, sometimes to the detriment of residents’ gardens – but there’s no arguing that witnessing these spiky rodents in most cases brings joy to the beholder. Primarily nocturnal, they feed at night and doze during the day, but it’s not unheard of to see them rummaging around while the sun’s up.
And if you’re really quiet and really, really lucky, you may just spot a caracal, sightings of which have been reported at Kingswood sporadically over the years. Call Dan on 086 172 7170 if you’ve been privy to any unique wildlife sightings, and in case of animals in distress.
Flashing back to the first arrivals
When comparing notes about the exact date when the first springboks were introduced to Kingswood, resident Christine Maree dug up these lovely images. She wrote: ‘My youngest son, Eduan Maree, shared these images of the exact day the springboks were offloaded at Kingswood. The date on hubby Etienne’s Facebook page was 12 August 2017. It was such a memorable day for our family especially our sons, who were involved in the process.
On the day, Etienne predicted that the herd would definitely produce a black springbok, and possibly even a copper split springbok in the future!’
