Cape Town - Table Mountain National Park has been using mobile camera traps disguised as logs and rocks to monitor the return of animals to areas burnt in the March fires.
But in addition to animals such as the caracal, Cape grysbokke, porcupine, large spotted genets and mongeese, they’ve captured a number of the two-legged variety.
Annoyed and frustrated at the closure of areas such as Silvermine and the upper Tokai section of the park, hikers, mountain bikers, trail runners and dog walkers have been caught on film sneaking into the still sensitive areas.
Some users have also let rip on social media slamming the decision.
Table Mountain National Park manager, Paddy Gordon, said it had been frustrating having to close certain areas but it had been done for people’s own safety and to allow natural systems to recover.
“We know people have criticised us but they need to know we are working hard to rehabilitate areas so they can be re-opened.
“The area is still very delicate and we want people to come back in a responsible manner.”
Carly Cowell, regional ecologist for the Cape, said the return of the animals had been fascinating.
One of the caracals picked up on the camera trap had a collar and had been tracked during the fire as well. “He was near the dam at Silvermine when the fire started and he moved into Orange Kloof above Hout Bay during that time.”
Raptors had been spotted and snakes were also returning.
Cowell said the lush green vegetation springing up was like an “all-you-can-eat buffet”. “It brings grazers and browsers who are followed by predators.”
Thanks to all the alien clearing that had taken place, this year’s fire wasn’t as damaging to vegetation as the one in 2000 was.
“Bulbs, underground stems and seeds weren’t destroyed because this was a faster fire,” Cowell said.
Invasive alien plants are also triggered by fire and will have to be removed, but Cowell said this could only be done once they had grown big enough to be identified.
Gordon said they would need around R10-million a year over the next three years for alien clearing.
But staff are excited by what they are seeing. Between 20 and 25 species have already returned and in some areas there were so many seeds that volunteer rangers collected them in bags and took them to Tokai to sow by hand.
She said she was pleasantly surprised by the diversity of species coming back.
Some she had never seen in Silvermine.
“The fire creates a new canvas. It burns and opens up the veld and a lot of plants react to the sun and start growing.”
Cowell said post fire birds were also coming back, drawn by the abundance of grubs and insects.
From September 14 – to co-incide with SA National Parks week – Silvermine east, which includes the Waterfall area, and the areas above Kalk Bay, St James, Muizenberg and Lakeside will re-open to the public.
Silvermine west is expected to be open by the end of the year and Tokai by the end of next year.
Cape Argus