Our Uniquely Cape Endemic Equine
Gondwana Private Game Reserve is proud to be the custodian of these two distinct species, with the extinct Cape quagga being replaced by their closest subspecies the Burchell’s zebra (Equus quagga burchellii) to serve as an ecological substitute on the reserve (but more on that in a future newsletter). Our uniquely endemic Cape mountain zebra, having been spared from the fate of extinction, albeit just, endured a tumultuous previous three centuries. Roaming widely across the mountainous and undulating terrain of the Western and Eastern Cape in vast numbers, by the 1950’s less than 50 individuals survived in the most inaccessible parts of their range.
A Species on the Brink
As a direct result of hunting and habitat loss due to livestock farming the once widespread Cape mountain zebra lost more than 90% of their historic range and the future of their species seemed dire. What remained of their former abundance had been reduced to three isolated mountainous areas. These populations survived in what was to become the Gamkaberg Nature Reserve and Kammanassie Nature Reserve in the Western Cape, and the Mountain Zebra National Park in the Eastern Cape. The two Western Cape relict populations persisted in relative close proximity to Gondwana Private Game Reserve, with Gamkaberg only 26 kilometers due north as the crow flies.
Since those early days, concerted conservation action brought about the steady increase in total population size and distribution, however the residual effects of the resulting genetic bottleneck still looms as a threat to their long term survival. Additionally, of the three surviving original relict populations, only the Mountain Zebra National Park population at the Grassland/Nama-Karoo ecotone thrived under the establishment of a formally protected conservation area, while the Gamkaberg and Kammanassie populations struggled over the years.
A notable single contribution included a poaching incident in 1974 when seven Cape mountain zebras were shot at Gamkaberg, reducing the population to six. Continued threats to these two Western Cape relict populations include suboptimal habitat, habitat fragmentation, moribund vegetation and lack of grass regeneration due to the exclusion of fire, and severe inbreeding depression leading to genetic drift. Furthermore, until as recently as 2021 the Gamkaberg genetic stock remained isolated on that mountain, but have subsequently been introduced to another private reserve in the Little Karoo through the single stallion which has successfully produced progeny with a mare of Mountain Zebra National Park origin.
Overall the Cape mountain zebra survives today in a number of genetically depauperate and isolated populations that are threatened by small sub-population sizes, habitat fragmentation and hybridisation with other equine species.
A Thriving Future on Gondwana
Despite their name, Cape mountain zebra were by no means restricted to the mountains. Before seeking refuge from the pressures of settling humanity in the most inaccessible mountainous terrain, our endemic Cape mountain zebra enjoyed the freedom to traverse the landscape between mountain and lowland in search of prime grazing grounds. These altitudinal movements played an important role in their life cycle, until habitat fragmentation in the form of livestock fences prohibited their return to the favourable nutrient-rich lowlands. In our attempt to rewild and restore the Cape wilderness, Gondwana Private Game Reserve joined the concerted conservation efforts by reintroducing a herd of Cape mountain zebra, in effect a human assisted migration, to their former haunts in Gondwana. Our herd arrived in 2016 after a long journey from the Tsolwana Nature Reserve in the Eastern Cape, themselves being of the Mountain Zebra National Park population.
Our animals have settled well on the reserve in the Special Protected Area and favour reclaimed agricultural fields that have naturally converted to novel grasslands. These landscapes have been postulated to be very similar to the natural habitat that dominated our area during the late Pleistocene when grasslands were widespread in the southern Cape and supported the largest numbers of Cape mountain zebra, along with a myriad of other grazers that included bontebok and blue antelope, the other two Cape endemics, as well as roan antelope, waterbuck, common reedbuck, Cape quagga and Cape buffalo.
Moving forward we are dedicated to seeing our Gondwana herd established as one of the few populations with Gamkaberg mountain zebra genetics through the addition of stallions from our closest relict population, securing the continued survival of our very own uniquely Cape endemic equine.