MARLOTH PARK – Culling of the conservancy’s wildlife is a very controversial subject, and rumours are doing the rounds that all the animals are being removed. The Marloth Park Forum, comprising of the Marloth Park Property Owners Association (MPPOA), Marlothii Conservancy, Marloth Wildlife Fund and Honorary Rangers, wishes to place on public record that this is not the case.
A structured game-reduction plan is in place, which the Nkomazi Local Municipality is using to drastically lessen the number of wildlife due to dwindling food supply.
The Forum members support these efforts as this is needed in order to rehabilitate Marloth Park’s veld.
MPPOA contracted Rhengu Environmental Services last year to perform an environmental management report and to recommend remedies to make Marloth Park a viable game conservancy in the medium- to long term. This was funded by the local community.
The complete environmental management plan (EMP) was presented by MPPOA to the Nkomazi Municipality as a viable strategy.
Mr Ralf Khalwa of Rhengu reported that, in his 30 years of environmental management, he had never seen an environment in such bad condition.
The bad state of Marloth Park’s veld is mainly due to overgrazing and overbrowsing as well as bad veld-management practices by the municipality, contractors and property owners.
Marloth Park was classified as being in a critical state and its stocking capacity in 2015 was considered as critically low, even before this year’s severe drought conditions. The area has no natural food left in the veld and cannot support any grazers naturally.
The EMP recommended that the game be reduced immediately, before any of the veld management and rehabilitation measures can be implemented. This entailed that many of Marloth Park’s animals had to be captured and sold, or culled.
According to MPPOA, the initial game figures used in the assessment, which was provided by the municipality, proved to be inaccurate.
During the two game reduction operations, in 2015 and this year, far more impala and warthog was removed than originally anticipated.
The Honorary Rangers recently completed a drive-through game count and the municipality commissioned an overhead count by helicopter. Preliminary numbers indicate that there are still too many impala, warthog and kudu in Marloth Park.
MPPOA stated that to succeed with the recommended rehabilitation, the wildlife numbers will have to be reduced even more.
Although there are many opinions on what the numbers should be, the forum agreed that the EMP recommendations should be their goal.
According to MPPOA, forum members, donors and Nkomazi contractors have spent an estimated R750 000 on supplementary feed over the past six months, and will have to raise and spend a similar amount in the next few months just to guarantee the survival of the remaining game. This does not include supplementary feed regularly bought by property owners and visitors.
Animals will only be able to start grazing once the area has received sufficient rain and the grass starts growing again.
“We have to finish the course of action that we have started if we are to have any chance of rehabilitating Marloth Park and ensure the mid- and long-term future of our beloved game conservancy.
The medicine unfortunately is very bitter, but it will ensure a speedy recovery of Marloth Park’s veld,” MPPOA chairman, Mr Tony Hayman, stated.
