Kyalami Conservancy mapped
KYALAMI - The Greater Kyalami Conservancy is being mapped to justify why development should not take place in the area.
The conservancy spans the area of Kyalami within the perimeter of the Jukskei River which separates Lonehill and Glenferness, Main Road to the R55, Summit Road and the R511.
The conservancy’s Tyrone Mckendry is in the process of compiling the biodiversity of the area. “I expected to find degraded grass, not egoli granite grass. I expected to see only garden birds as wildlife, not black backed jackals. I soon realised that this area was worth conserving and collecting biodiversity data was worth doing,” said Mckendry.
He appealed for residents to lend their help to his project by informing him of sightings of animals. Sighting report forms are available on the conservancy’s website or sightings can be documented on Gekco Biodiversity on Facebook.
Mckendry said he believed the area was home to 225 different species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, trees, shrubs, succulents, ferns and grasses.
Mckendry is also working on a project to track the movement of wildlife in the conservancy and identify the ecologically important areas. For this, he has chosen eight species which are easy for the public to identify and monitor. These are the spotted eagle owl, helmeted guineafowl, giant bullfrog, black-backed jackal, slender mongoose, South African hedgehog, red-lipped herald snake and water monitor.
The community can join conservancy members on Saturday morning or evening sighting trips.
Margie Donde is taking on the equine part of the data collection as she aims to compile a legacy document of the equestrian activity in the Greater Kyalami Conservancy. She wants horse-lovers to approach her with their personal stories.
Details: www.gekco.co.za, Margie Donde 082-496-6214 or mdonde@iafrica.com or like Gekco Biodiversity on Facebook.
