Game & Wildlife

Sheep farming has long been the mainstay of the agricultural economy in the Karoo, but agricultural economists Dr Thula Dlamini and Prof Gavin Fraser say that springbok ranching offers a viable alternative to farmers, with environmental resource benefits. Lindi van Rooyen reports.

Every year, hundreds of wild animals are moved from SA’s national parks to other parks, reserves and game farms within the region. Game capture and translocation is a highly specialised field, as Dr Markus Hofmeyr, SANParks’ head of Veterinary Wildlife Services, told Peter Mashala.

With no previous farming experience but with a love of conservation and wildlife and a large dose of business and common sense, the Bhorat family has turned an undeveloped and overgrazed piece of land into a successful game farm in only four years. Denene Erasmus reports.

Research on springbok in the Free State focuses on the implications of selecting game animals for their colour. Roelof Bezuidenhout reports.

Bernard Groenewald of LBG Holdings opened a game marketing facility, Castle De Wildt, outside Modimolle (Nylstroom) last weekend.

In 1994 Hennie Barnard became the first person to successfully breed sable antelope in the Eastern Cape. This finalist in the Wildlife Ranching South Africa’s 2011 Game Rancher of the Year competition has fine herds of sable and buffalo on his farm near Aberdeen. Heather Dugmore paid him a visit.

As businessman and game breeder, Cyril Ramaphosa focuses on buying the best and conserving animals for the future. Sean Christie spoke to him.

Farmers and leopards living peacefully together might sound impossible, especially if you’re farming in the Southern Cape, where predation seems rife. But a new study suggests that leopards in the George-Wilderness region seldom eat livestock if other prey is available. Leopard researcher Alexander Braczkowski reports.

Whenever there are problems in an industry, it is advisable to go back to basics. Roelof Bezuidenhout reports.

Black-footed cat (Felis nigripes) and African wild cat (Felis silvestris lybica) populations are under threat from diminishing prey bases, degraded habitats, persecution, disease and hybridisation. To better understand Africa’s smallest cats, Mike Burgess visited Marion Holmes and Dr Mircea Pfleiderer near Cradock in Eastern Cape.

South Africa is a favourite destination for US trophy hunters, but the authorities underestimate their contribution to the local economy and don't try and lure them here.

The population of Canada's indigenous American plains bison is recovering after the species was nearly decimated in the late 1800s.

Within two seasons, and without warning, the Eastern Cape's free-ranging kudu numbers have shifted from 'too many' to 'too few'. Roelof Bezuidenhout speculates on what could've gone wrong.

When Abel Erasmus bought five stock farms near Philippolis in the Free State to establish the 14 000ha Otterskloof Private Game Reserve, he focused on breeding rare game species, including disease-free buffalo, roan antelope and sable antelope. Mike Burgess spoke to him about his success converting stock farms into a game reserve.

Ultrasound scans aren't new in the livestock industry, but they're now being increasingly used in the high-profit game industry. And that's just the start - researchers say embryo transfer is the next big thing. Heather Dugmore investigates.

Few farming enterprises can offer the returns of a well-managed buffalo breeding operation.

South Africa’s stud game industry is making great strides in breeding genetically superior stock, but are the high prices being paid at auctions healthy – or the start of a big problem? Heather Dugmore investigates.

Spanish hunters expect comfortable accommodation, Germans want value for money – Roelof Bezuidenhout breaks down a recent survey into what foreign tourists want from safaris, and how operators can cater for them.

Two wildlife ranching experts call for more support from the authorities but warn that over-regulation could kill the industry.

The Garingboom Guest Farm near Springfontein in the southern Free State has had 15 000 guests pass through it in the past 14 years, many of whom came to catch a glimpse of two new bird species discovered as late as the 1990s. Mike Burgess visited the farm.