Wild matters

Many estate managers already deal with game on site or envisage acquiring animals to attract potential buyers and add to the estate-living experience.

With some game reserves struggling to survive residential estates could offer an alternative to housing unwanted game.

But looking after wildlife is not easy – here we look at what it entails.

Us and them

Ian Michler – world renowned for his work with Blood Lions, captive wildlife, and international restrictions on the animal-product trade – is cautious about introducing wildlife on estates.

‘Wildlife estates are gaining in popularity, but the concept of stocking residential areas with game is always contested ground, as humans interpret our relationship with the natural world in such divergent ways,’ he says.

‘We need to understand the context of these developments. As population and commerce expand, boundaries between human living and nature become less structured and more blurred.’

‘This is a manifestation of our record over millennia, to control and shape the natural world. When stocking estates with wildlife, biodiversity conservation and the well-being of species are seldom prioritised.’

Whose needs are served?

‘Despite marketing blurbs about pristine living and being in touch with nature, these pursuits invariably focus on our needs: living in crime-free spaces, adding buyer appeal, and enhancing property values.

‘Developing nature-focused estates demands extreme responsibility and due diligence, including robust Environmental Impact Assessments with long-term management plans. Protect existing biodiversity and ecosystems, and be prudent about species selected.’

Managers should seek ecological advice on fencing, and human-animal conflict situations. ‘No estate purporting to serve as breeding or trading facility should be permitted to do so,’ Michler cautions.

Stick to the game plan

Head of biodiversity at Western Cape Environmental Affairs, Albert Ackhurst, urges estate executives to study the regulations pertaining to game procurement first.

‘Every region has a conservation agency that provides advice on desirable animals for particular ecosystems. They will inform on current legislation and permits required to keep native species, or to import animals.’

Ackhurst mentions residential estates at Brenton on Sea as example of successful integration, with bushbuck roaming freely alongside native small cats such as caracal.

Extralimital affairs

Extralimital creatures (homed at considerable distance from their normal range) require adequate enclosure, i.e., fences that won’t allow roaming into protected natural areas.

‘CapeNature issues permits for extralimital animals that naturally occur elsewhere in the country. But take note that allowing blesbok to cross with bontebok is genetically unproductive while disturbing the natural balance of the eco-system!’ says Ackhurst.

Lists of compatible species are available from CapeNature and SANParks. Consult them before buying stock.

Multi-course meals

CapeNature Keurbooms River conservation manager Henk Nieuwoudt enthuses over local wildlife at the many estates in and around Plettenberg Bay.

‘Springbuck, zebra, bontebok, eland, and buffalo have all been roaming this part of the Cape for centuries, so are safe species for estate managers to consider. But precise fencing is paramount. Springbuck, for example require a four-foot (1.2m) fence, with mesh-wire below to prevent dogs from entering encampments.’

He says an 18-hole golf course offers enough vegetation variation to adequately feed resident antelope, and game licks can be placed at watering holes to supplement nutrition.

Goose on point

Management of Goose Valley Golf Estate considered hosting a herd to enhance its Gary Player-designed course. But the decision was vetoed by residents who feared the antelopes’ pluck-feeding action would ruin the greens –impala who had previously wreaked havoc at Pilanesberg estates were front of mind.

‘It’s imperative everyone buys in, and that there is a clear management plan. When dealing with hartebeest, for instance, the dominant ram needs to be replaced every four to five years to prevent inbreeding,’ says Ackhurst

CapeNature has had to intervene in cases where no designated person tended to game, the absence of continuous monitoring negatively impacting animals.

‘Inbreeding results in weakened gene pools, with buck becoming prone to disease and some species losing their natural colouring. While ongoing mowing of golf estates’ fairways and roughs removes scat, increased parasite-loading that renders animals vulnerable is often the case elsewhere,” adds Ackhurst.

Small sacrifice

‘Grysbok, duiker, porcupine and tortoises that naturally occur on many estates are shy and, in our neck of the woods, stick to the dunes. So no gardens are being trampled or consumed.

‘Create patches of sacrificial plants like Watsonia or Arum lilies to keep these critters happy while also conserving your tulips,’ Nieuwoudt suggests.