Apart from private game reserves, the
SANParks have now got into the act of reintroducing large predators to many of
their conservation areas. These include Lion
into Karoo, Addo and Mountain Zebra national
parks. Numbers are small and will have to remain so but new genetic flow will
have to be maintained. What purpose do
these reintroductions serve? It certainly
will do little for overall conservation of the species, especially Lion, Cheetah and Spotted Hyaena.
It is argued that these large predators
will help keep game populations in check but how do you prevent them taking rarer
species? Simply put you cannot! When Lion were reintroduced in Madikwe they
took a fancy to the Sable, a threatened species in South Africa. Certainly, the authorities can say we are
doing our best not to cull surplus game but doing it the natural way by
reintroducing predators.
Although contraception is being used to
prevent large predator population explosions these have long term implications
for the very health of these predators.
We think the real reason for reintroducing
them is to attract more tourists who are looking for the Big Five experience,
in areas outside the malaria zone! But
there is nothing wrong with this, or is
there?
