CapeNature is continuing the phased reopening of its reserves across the Western Cape following the easing of the national lockdown regulations to Alert Level 3 to allow hiking and fishing activity. Check the full list of reserves and trails that are currently open to the public here (opens in new tab). Please take into consideration the daily limit […]

CapeNature is delighted to announce the phased reopening of its reserves across the Western Cape following the easing of the national lockdown regulations to Alert Level 3 to allow hiking and fishing activity. Mr. Sheraaz Ismail, acting CapeNature Chief Executive Officer, confirmed that, “Staff are working diligently to ensure that the respective reserves are compliant […]

By Pierre de Villiers, Senior Manager, Marine and Coasts Operations The link between oceans and the land is often not well understood. People describe the ocean as that massive water space out there. Little do they know that where they live and how they live actually impacts on this ocean, so much so that they, […]

For the latest news and information on how CapeNature is managing a range of services during the lockdown, read the weekly CEO updates outlining the challenges facing us all. 26 March 2020 – 03 April 2020 04 April 2020 – 09 April 2020 10 April 2020 – 13 April 2020 18 April 2020 – 24 […]

Temminck’s Ground Pangolin Smutsia temminckii (synonym Manis temminckii), is the most widespread African pangolin species, recorded from south-eastern Chad, through South Sudan, much of East Africa and southern Africa as far south as the Northern Cape and North West provinces of South Africa and northeast KwaZulu-Natal Province. It is a rare, scale-covered mammal, about the […]

The global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the travel and tourism sector severely. CapeNature reserves remained closed during the national Alert Level 4 and will continue to remain closed as the country transitions to Alert Level 3. The entity stands in solidarity with the Western Cape’s official Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, Wesgro, who has […]

By Alexis Olds and Philippa Huntly, CapeNature Biodiversity Capabilities The COVID-19 pandemic has got us to think about our relationship to the natural world and specifically the animals with which we share this planet. While there is currently much speculation about the transmission of COVID-19, and the role that wild animals play (particularly pangolins and […]

The International Day for Biological Diversity is celebrated on 22 May annually and this year’s theme is “Our solutions are in nature”. According to CapeNature’s CEO, Dr Razeena Omar, “this is indeed a day of celebration as CapeNature has made massive strides in reducing biodiversity loss. The entity has expanded our protected area estate year on year. […]

By Jeanne Gouws, Freshwater Ecologist When it comes to the animal Kingdom, conservation is not all about everything big. Big and “furry”, big and “leather-y” or big and “scale-y” vertebrates are not the be-all and end-all of biodiversity. The smaller invertebrate beings, often alien looking, are frequently forgotten.  CapeNature ecologists, however, did not forget about […]

CapeNature ecologists Dr. Martine Jordaan and Jeanne Gouws were fortunate enough to get out into the field (or rivers in this case!) just before lockdown. And what special fish they found! By Dr Martine Jordaan and Jeanne Gouws, CapeNature ecologists March 2020 saw the recording of three new sites in the Tradouw mountains with intact […]