IBA Ndumo Game Reserve
SA Number: SA 052
Status: Global IBA (A2, A3)
Site Description
Located c. 100 km north of the town of Mkuze, Ndumo Game Reserve is situated on the Zululand coastal plain. It nestles at the eastern foot of the Lebombo Mountains at the junction of the Pongola and Usuthu floodplain systems. The Pongola River runs through the reserve, from south to north, while the Usuthu River forms the northern border. This is also the international border with Moçambique. The topography is very flat with a few small hills; the area is mostly low-lying, with the altitude ranging from 22 to 120 m a.s.l. There are two major semi-permanent floodplain pans and many smaller permanent and ephemeral pans within the reserve. Ndumu Hill is composed of red sands, while east of Ndumu Hill another sandveld area is composed of undulating pallid sands, situated mostly 30 m a.s.l. The climate is subtropical: the annual temperature ranges from an average minimum of 17°C to an average maximum of 28°C; rain falls mostly in summer (October–March) and averages 633 mm p.a. An interesting component of the reserve is the floodplain vegetation. A number of different woodland habitats dominate. There is very little open grassland and in places, there are relict patches of well-developed sand forest.
Birds
The rivers, floodplains, pans, dams and vleis are important for many wetland dependent and associated birds. Black Stork which breed in gorges of the nearby mountains regularly forage in the various wetlands in Ndumo. The wetlands within the reserve also hold Great White Pelican, Pink-backed Pelican, Woolly-necked Stork, African Openbill, Saddle-billed Stork, Grey Crowned Crane, Caspian Tern, African Marsh Harrier, Greater Flamingo, Lesser Flamingo, Rufous-bellied Heron, White-backed Night Heron, Baillon's Crake, Lesser Moorhen, Allen's Gallinule, Lesser Jacana and Black Coucal.
The only recorded successful breeding of the African Openbill in South Africa took place in Ndumo in 1972. The riverine forest holds Pel's Fishing Owl and African Finfoot. African Grass Owl, Southern Ground-Hornbill, Black-winged Lapwing and occasionally Senegal Lapwing occur throughout the reserve's grassland areas. This reserve is one of the few in KwaZulu Natal that holds most of its original complement of raptors, including small populations of White-backed Vulture, Lappet-faced Vulture, White-headed Vulture, Martial Eagle, Bateleur, Southern Banded Snake-Eagle and Tawny Eagle. Cape Vulture, Hooded Vulture and Pallid Harrier occasionally visit the reserve in small numbers. The bushveld and riverine forest holds Red-crested Korhaan, White-throated Robin-chat, Burnt-necked Eremomela, Gorgeous Bush-Shrike, Rudd's Apalis, Black-bellied Starling and Grey Sunbird. The sand forest holds Neergaard's Sunbird and Pink-throated Twinspot.
Key Species
Threatened Species
Range and Biome Restricted Species
Other threatened/endemic wildlife
Large mammals are well represented in Ndumo, including endangered species such as the White Rhinoceros, Black Rhinoceros, Red Duiker, Aardwolf, Suni, Leopard, Serval and Crocodile. Many distinctive and interesting trees are at their southernmost limit here. Examples are
Combretum imberbe,
Sterculia rogersii,
Pterocarpus rotundifolius,
Lonchocarpus capassa,
Acacia albida and
Entandrophragma caudatum. The latter is a single, large, old specimen far removed from its nearest kin.
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