South African White Farmers' Land to be Seized in Controversial Land Redistribution Claim

[EX500rider]

48. You don't have to buy the truth if you don't want.

♦ Private wildlife ranches generally focus on a select few of the game species on their land for commercial use, but they provide habitat for countless species of mammals, birds, fish, insects and plants that are not commercially exploited at all. With habitat destruction being one of the primary threats to wildlife biodiversity, these private reserves often represent vitally important corridors for wildlife between designated protected areas that are increasingly surrounded by swathes of land transformed by human activity.

♦ According to statistics from Wildlife Ranching SA, on average, a single wildlife ranch of about 2 700ha that focuses on eco-tourism and biodiversity support is home to 45 mammal species, 266 bird species, 43 reptile species, 29 grass species and over 100 other tree and plant species.

♦ Several species (bontebok, blesbok, roan and sable antelope, tsessebe, black wildebeest, leopard tortoise) have been rescued from the brink of extinction thanks to the creation of these reserves and now have healthy and growing populations in the country. There were only a few hundred disease-free buffalo in the country in the late 1900s and buffalo were also facing threats of eradication due to diseases they are susceptible to. Thanks to the collaboration of national and private reserves and various breeding projects, there are now more than 36 000 disease-free buffalo in the country – yet another success story for conservation in SA.

https://africageographic.com/blog/private-game-reserves-vital-conservation/