The Kammanassie Nature Reserve recently held a competition for locally based primary school learners where they had to name a Cape mountain zebra foal born earlier this year.

The Cape galaxias, Galaxias zebratus, are a small-bodied freshwater fish with a wide distribution in the Cape Fold Ecoregion. While being described as far back as 1861, it was only recently discovered that the single widespread species is a species complex comprising several unique and genetically diverse lineages.

With the help of six members from the Stanford Bird Club, 12,233 waterbirds belonging to 41 species were counted on De Hoop Vlei this month. Of these, 70% were Red-knobbed Coot and 11% were Egyptian Geese. Two threatened species, the Great White Pelican and Caspian Tern were recorded – both are classified as Vulnerable on the South African Red List.

In March, CapeNature hosted a stand at the Festival of Climbing and SANCF Boulder Selection Competition. The event determines who will represent South Africa at the IFSC Youth World Championships taking place later this year in China.

The Western Cape has so much to see and discover that it would take a lifetime to explore it all! As you reach your golden years, there’s no better time in your life than to spend summertime frolicking in nature.

CapeNature’s Bird Island Nature Reserve in Lambert’s Bay, known for its stunning seafront vistas and diverse birdlife, recently hosted unexpected visitors that sent bird enthusiasts into a frenzy. In a rare sighting, four Australasian Gannets and two Brown Boobies made a surprise visit to the island.

It is widely known that South Africa, and in particular the Western Cape, suffers from water scarcity. This reality underscores the critical need to prioritise the conservation of freshwater ecosystems and their catchments to ensure a sustainable supply of water for both biodiversity and human consumption. The provision of water is categorised as one of the ecosystem services offered by natural freshwater ecosystems.

CapeNature and its partners has experienced a grueling Summer fire season which ravaged a substantial number of hectares throughout the Western Cape.

The 2023 Western Cape State of Biodiversity Report builds on the 2017 edition, summarising information relating to the status of the terrestrial, freshwater, coastal ecosystems, and indigenous species in the Western Cape.

In late January 2024, CapeNature was alerted to a fire in the vicinity of one of its stewardship partners, and also an area of concern for the critically endangered, geometric tortoise (Psammobates geometricus) according to IUCN Red List.

Four landowners joined to form the Manna Karoo Nature Reserve Association and, in January 2024, signed an agreement with CapeNature to declare the site as a nature reserve.

A baseline survey of the Garden Route Nature Reserve complex was completed in January 2024 to provide updated information on the freshwater fish community of the reserve complex and inform future management interventions.