South Africa’s Cape Mountain Zebra has become the latest international success story for nature conservation and the survival of a species that was on the verge of extinction.
Local conservation of this species has been remarkable, from less than 100 individual animals in the 1990s to well over 5 000 in 2016. It is no longer threatened with extinction. Due to this, South Africa’s proposal to transfer the Cape Mountain Zebra from Appendix I to Appendix II has been adopted at the 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Johannesburg.
Local conservation of this species has been remarkable, from less than 100 individual animals in the 1990s to well over 5 000 in 2016. It is no longer threatened with extinction. Due to this, South Africa’s proposal to transfer the Cape Mountain Zebra from Appendix I to Appendix II has been adopted at the 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Johannesburg.
Spokesperson for Western Cape’s Cape Nature, Justin Lawrence, says these animals, which can be seen in the Mountain Zebra National Park and the Karoo National Park, is a success story. The Cape Mountain Zebra is well protected in the state-owned protected areas. The two original subpopulations in Mountain Zebra National Park and the Karoo National Park have doubled since 2004.
The transfer of Cape Mountain Zebra to Appendix II supports the management and conservation of this subspecies, as it opens up additional economic opportunities that can support the expansion of available habitat and better management of subpopulations on private land. – andreg@centralmediagroup.co.za
André Grobler – Bloemfontein Courant
