According to CapeNature, the birth of a unique foal at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve is a beacon of hope for Cape mountain zebra conservation.
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The chief custodian of the province’s natural environment said that over the last 300 years, hunting and habitat destruction have decimated Cape mountain zebra numbers and isolated the three remaining small populations.
‘Genetic drift over subsequent generations resulted in three genetically distinct stocks,’ said CapeNature.
‘Public and private conservation efforts led to a substantial increase in numbers, which resulted in the Cape mountain zebra being removed from the IUCN Red List of threatened species; except for one of the three stocks, which remained isolated and showed signs of inbreeding.’
Gamkaberg Nature Reserve, near Calitzdorp, formed the only place in the world where zebra of this stock occurred, with the already small Gamkaberg population being reduced to only six animals when seven were poached by a local farmer in 1974 – until recently.
Land purchases by the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa resulted in the expansion of the nature reserve which subsequently helped the population grow. However, CapeNature says the genetic problem remains.
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To address this, CapeNature and Sanbona developed a genetic rescue plan in consultation with experts from SANBI and the University of Venda. The chosen location for the project was Sanbona Wildlife Reserve due to its ideal zebra genetic mixing bowl.
At 62 000 hectares, Sanbona is already home to a large and growing Cape mountain zebra population. This includes animals of mixed Cradock and Kammanassie stock from De Hoop Nature Reserve, which CapeNature made available to Sanbona in 2016 under a custodianship agreement.
In 2021, three stallions were translocated from Gamkaberg to a dedicated genetic rescue camp in Sambona and a group of Sanbona mares – some of Cradock stock and some of De Hoop origin – was added to the camp the following year.
Following the death of two of the stallions (one due to unknown causes and the other due to a severe tooth abscess), the success of the genetic rescue project hinged on the performance of the only remaining stallion, five-year-old GB42, explained CapeNature.
‘It has now become clear that he has met his brief,’ the custodian said. ‘Liesl Vorster, Sanbona’s ecologist, spotted GB42 with a Cradock mare and their precious young offspring.
‘The foal is the only Cape mountain zebra in the world which contains both Cradock and Gamkaberg genes. All eyes will be on this little herd in the hopes of another union that will combine all three genetic stocks and help restore what remains of the genetic diversity that was lost to the species many years ago,’ the custodian added.
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Picture: Liesl Vorster / Sanbona Wildlife Reserve
