Atherstone Nature Reserve

Atherstone Nature Reserve, also known as the Atherstone Collaborative Nature Reserve, is a 23,500 hectare reserve situated close to Dwaalboom, in the Limpopo, province in South Africa. The reserve consists mainly of vast savannah plains with bushveld and Kalahari grasslands ecosystems. Besides antelopes, zebras and giraffes, the black rhino and elephants are one of the highlights of Atherstone.[1][2]

Atherstone Nature Reserve
LocationSouth Africa
Nearest cityDwaalboom
Coordinates24°34.491′S 26°47.112′E
Area23,500 hectares (235 km2)

History

Norman Edward Atherstone, who was originally a cattle farmer and become the first game farmer In this area, did a lot to re-introduce some game on his farmland, which was then called the Atherstone Game Reserve. He never had a wife nor children and, in his last will, he donated his farms to the former Transvaal Nature Conservation Department. In 1990 the Atherstone Nature Reserve was founded; it became the Atherstone Collaborative Nature Reserve in 1994, after some private farms were also incorporated into the reserve.

Animals

The following list of animals were taken from pamphlet of the nature reserve.

Common animal species found in the reserve:

Buffalo Caracal Cheetah Duiker–grey Eland Elephant
Gemsbuck Genet Giraffe Hartebeest-red Hyena–brown Impala
Jackal-black-backed Kudu Leopard Monkey-vervet Rhino-black Rhino-white
Sable antelope Steenbok Tsessebe Warthog Waterbuck Wildebeest-blue
Zebra

Common bird species found in the reserve:

Ostrich Hamerkop Hadeda ibis African spoonbill Whitefaced duck Knobbilled duck
Egyptian goose Secretary bird Cape vulture Lappet-faced vulture White-backed vulture Tawny eagle
Wahlberg's eagle Martial eagle Brown snake eagle Black-breasted snake eagle Bateleur African fish eagle
Dark chanting goshawk Gabar goshawk Crested francolin Swainson's francolin Common quail Melba finch
Helmeted guineafowl Blue waxbill Violet-eared waxbill White-browed sparrow weaver Paradise whydah Kori bustard
Lesser masked weaver Black korhaan Redcrested korhaan Crowned plover Blacksmith plover Spotted dikkop
Double-banded sandgrouse Rock pigeon Red-eyed dove Cape turtle dove Laughing dove Namaqua dove
Green-spotted dove Grey loerie Jacobin cuckoo Diederik cuckoo Burchell's coucal Barn owl
White-faced owl Pearl-spotted owlet Flernecked nightjar Rufous-cheeked nightjar European bee-eater Little bee-eater
Blue-cheeked bee-eater European roller Purple roller Lilac-breasted roller Hoopoe Grey hornbill
Southern yellow-billed hornbill Southern red-billed hornbill Pied barbet European swallow Fork-tailed drongo Pied crow
Brown-hooded kingfisher Titbabbler Puffback Long-billed crombec Wattled starling Burchell's starling
Groundscraper thrush Marico sunbird Red-billed oxpecker

See also

References
  1. Seloana, M. Q.; Potgieter, M. J.; Kruger, J. W.; Jordaan, J. J.; Seloana, M. Q. (21 June 2017). "Elephant Management Plan Outputs". Insights of Forest Research. 1 (1). doi:10.36959/948/458.
  2. Seloana, Makoshane Q.; Jordaan, Jorrie J.; Potgieter, Martin J.; Kruger, Johan W. (September 2018). "Feeding patterns of elephants at the Atherstone Collaborative Nature Reserve". African Journal of Ecology. 56 (3): 445–454. doi:10.1111/aje.12422.

Further reading
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