- Gondwana Kalahari Park/ News



		News 2007News 05.07.07


		Springbok have lots of Young - 05.07.07 Some 2,200 springbok and almost 280 Oryx antelope roam the park at present. This has been established as a result of the game count conducted last weekend. Compared to the first count two years ago, game populations have increased considerably. In the case of the springbok this is largely thanks to the exceptional rainfalls in early 2006 which produced ample plant growth. The marked increase in the number of Oryx is mainly due to purchasing and releasing a large group of these animals in August 2006.



		But other species have also developed very well: the number of ostrich has more than doubled and hartebeest have trebled. Experts think that the figures which resulted from the first count two years ago were too low in both cases. The 23 Burchell’s zebra, released in August 2006, were excluded from this year’s count. According to the park’s staff they are doing absolutely fine and are already raising foals.

		The count is conducted from a slowly moving vehicle. The same four routes through changing terrain are used for every count so that the results of different years can be compared. Totals are determined by multiplying the number of animals which were spotted during the count by adjusting factors for species and terrain.

		The aim of the count is to obtain reliable data on populations in the park area, their distribution and the development of figures from year to year. This is a prerequisite for sustainable game management. Rain is not only sparse in this arid region, but there are also significant fluctuations in annual quantities; this affects the condition of grazing, of course. Game management implies that strict attention is being paid to not exceeding the carrying capacity of the land.