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Evidence is mounting that elephants are killing ancient baobab trees in our regional parks, and saplings are increasingly hard to find. What’s driving the loss? ....
Ecoactivists spearhead mistbelt biodiversity drive whil... dailymaverick.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymaverick.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
weekly newspaper. In January and February, the mountainsides of Helskloof usually blaze yellow-orange-red as thousands of Pearson’s Aloes flower. It’s an astonishing display of plant life in the desiccated expanses of the |Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park. But nowadays, all is not well. The aloe occupies only about 52km² in the Richtersveld, and just over the Orange River in Namibia. Livestock feeds on it when under pressure; mining and drought are other threats. But some kind of tipping point has struck. In late November 2020, the park’s nursery curator, Pieter van Wyk, mapped out a 50m by 50m square transect in Helskloof, and counted the number of dead and living aloes within it. All too many had turned to lifeless, grey-brown husks. The characteristic reddish leaves atop the survivors, too, were unnervingly sparse, despite recent good rains. “None of them is healthy,” Van Wyk says. “This population is likely to [become] extinct.” ....
Explorations in a mountain desert The Richtersveld satisfies 4x4 fans seeking adventure, culture and solitude BL PREMIUM 13 January 2021 - 05:00 Janine Stephen Dust comes free with every activity in the Richtersveld. Red sand blows in from the Namib; a river of ghostly grains coats the floor of the astonishing Secret Valley. It pools around hardy plants, and lingers behind cars traversing the lunar-like landscapes. Only 4x4s can handle the rudimentary roads that criss-cross this arid mountain desert and drivers cajole their vehicles to remote campsites, hidden in its enormous valleys or alongside pristine stretches of the Orange River. Our expedition, like so many, started with a 7km paddle down a sweep of this watery border with Namibia, a delicious, languid experience, punctuated with kingfisher sightings and chances to drop over the side for a swim. ....