Wolwekraal Nature Reserve

Newsletter, Issue 1, September 2025

A Warm Welcome

Dear Friends of Wolwekraal Nature Reserve,

Spring has returned to the Karoo, bringing a buzz of activity to the veld. We’re excited to share the latest news from the reserve with you in our very first Newsletter!

Wolwekraal Nature Reserve: A Brief Introduction

Wolwekraal Nature Reserve is situated 3km North of Prince Albert. The land was bought in 2005 by ecologist Dr. Sue Milton-Dean and her late husband, ornithologist Dr. Richard Dean. The 114-hectare piece of land has a high diversity of vulnerable and endemic plants, and falls under the Succulent Karoo Biome, which, known for its species richness and conservation importance, is recognised as a global biodiversity hotspot. With the help of CapeNature, the reserve was declared a Western Cape Protected Area in 2011.

Wolwekraal Nature Reserve has become a critical part of the effort to monitor, study and protect the unique biodiversity of the Prince Albert area, which is increasingly facing threats such as habitat loss, climate change, illegal plant harvesting, and poaching. The reserve is managed by Wolwekraal Conservation and Research Organisation (WCRO), with the vision to ensure the long-term conservation of the habitat, flora, fauna and cultural heritage on Wolwekraal Nature Reserve, while raising awareness of conservation and environmental issues, providing training, and encouraging research on ecological restoration, Karoo biodiversity and archaeology in the Prince Albert Municipal area and beyond.

Highlights from the Reserve

Rainfall

We have had a very dry winter: June 8 mm, July 10 mm, August 0 mm. The annual rainfall total to date is 75.9 mm. The Dorps River has not flowed since December 2024, but there are a few pools and trickles in the river on Wolwekraal as a result of the July rain in the Swartberg.

Plants and Animals

Mammalian predators recorded recently include Small Spotted Genet, African Wild Cat, Polecat and Mongooses. Bat-eared Foxes and Meerkats have returned to the reserve. Porcupines are very active and feeding mainly on Euphorbia rhombifolia. A lactating aardvark with a cub was recorded on a camera placed by Karin Sternberg near a burrow close to the Dorps River in the northern part of the reserve.

Education and Awareness

Interns

2024 intern Josh Cumming, zoology student from Cardiff University, completed his field surveys of birds along the Dorps River in December, and in April returned to Wales to complete his final report and studies.

Local Community Organisations

On 8 July Sue Milton-Dean took 17 Slimlappies students for a walk on the reserve to learn about natural history and human impacts on the environment. On 22 July she gave an inter-dependence themed walk for 9 PACT team members, explaining how plants depend on one another for protection and how animals interact and co-exist. This was part of a PACT team building event.

Research

Archaeology

John Parkington, Liora Horwitz and Sue Milton-Dean are assisting student Lisa Christowitz to complete her thesis on artefact patterns and types on Wolwekraal Nature Reserve. John and Liora are expected to visit Wolwekraal Nature Reserve later this year to identify bones from the sites.

Veld Restoration Trials

Sue Milton-Dean presented a talk on the Wolwekraaal rehabilitation trials at the annual conference of the Grassland Society of southern Africa in July 2025, and to a BotSoc webinar in August. Interest in ecological restoration is growing.

A Saasveld honours student supervised by Dr Anton Schmidt spent one week on Wolwekraal in July monitoring the 2016 micro-catchment rehabilitation experiment.

Entomology

Karin Sternberg continues her studies on wild honeybees and solitary bees on Wolwekraal. She has recorded 41 bee species on the reserve so far. She will present her interesting findings at her talk during Prince Albert Open Gardens in October https://paopengardens.co.za/walks-and-talks/. Read her latest article below:

Visiting Researchers

Trávníček Pavel from Czechoslovakia visited Wolwekraal on 20 August with his doctoral student to collect genetic material for a taxanomic study of the Pteronia mooreiana / hutchinsoniana /adenocarpa group in the Karoo.

University Groups

Nelson Mandela University

NMMU Conservation lecturers, Willem Matthee and Josh Louw, visited Wolwekraal Nature Reserve with the second-year conservation student group. They spent some hours discussing the effects of geology, biodiversity and past land use on the vegetation of the area.

North West University

Prof Frances Siebert and eight post-graduate students from North West University spent a week on Wolwekraal in September as part of their practical training. With Sue’s help they documented seedling recruitment on the 75 permanent vegetation study plots on the reserve.

Talks

In July, Karin Sternberg presented a lecture to CapeNature staff on wild bee conservation, which was very well received.

Sue Milton-Dean gave a virtual presentation on restoration methods at the Grassland Society of Southern Africa conference in July, and on a webinar to the Botanical Society in August.

On 30 August, Sue Milton-Dean and Bertus Fourie gave a talk at the Montague Herb Festival, titled ‘Conservation of Klain Karoo Medicinal Plants: Challenges and Solutions’.

In September, Sue gave a talk to the Farmers’ Association in Prince Albert titled ‘Knaagdeursiklise (Rodent Cycles)’. This was at their request because of the current concern about the increase in rodent densities that followed drought-breaking rains in 2024.

From our Wildlife Cameras…

Some exciting wildlife recently captured on our cameras…

Meerkats / Suricates have returned! They were last seen on Wolwekraal in January 2022.

Aardvark and Cub

While searching for burrows being used by wild honeybee colonies, Karin Sternberg found a newly-dug burrow that was clearly in use by aardvarks. We have since collected some great footage on a camera trap of this delightful character and its mother!

Young aardvarks are referred to as cubs or calves. After seven months of gestation, a female will give birth to one baby aardvark. After spending around two weeks in the safe burrow, the cub starts joining its mother on foraging trips. At about two months it starts eating solids, and at around four months is fully weaned. It stays with its mother for at least a year. It is quite clear on our footage that this cub had been taking its digging lessons very seriously, as we captured a lot of soil flying around!

Waterhole Visitors

The waterpoint continues to attract predator species as well as birds, duiker, hares, porcupine, elephant shrew, and other rodents.

Pictured below: a Duiker, Porcupine, and Small-spotted Genet

A Kori Bustard, the world’s heaviest flying bird!

The first record of a Secretary Bird on Wolwekraal Nature Reserve. They are uncommon in the Great Karoo Basin inland of the Swartberg.

A Steenbok male, female and lamb

A Double-banded Courser in sparse Succulent Karoo vegetation on Wolwekraal Nature Reserve. It possibly has a nest nearby, as it has kept a day and night vigil around this spot.

A Bat-eared Fox. We are excited to see them back on the reserve!

Plant Spotlight: Aloe Claviflora

Aloe claviflora plants are currently flowering on Wolwekraal nature reserve! The descriptive common names for Aloe claviflora include ‘Kraalalwyn’ (Kraal Aloe), refering to the circular kraal-like growth form; and ‘Kanonaalwyn’ (Canon Aloe), referring to the outward-facing, canon-like inflorescences. The epithet claviflora means club-shaped, referring to the flowers.

Orange flowers occur around August/September at a horizontal angle below the average height of the low vegetation. They are pollinated by sunbirds and bees during the day, and by elephant shrews at night. Kraal aloes probably live for hundreds of years. There is a large specimen on the reserve that had 92 heads before the 2016-2021 drought. Evidence for the long lifespan of kraal aloes includes their very slow growth and the mounds of silt that build up over time inside the sheltered environment of the aloe circle.

In 2016, SAON intern Gina Arena began a study on Porcupine herbivory on Aloe claviflora plants on Wolwekraal Nature Reserve. During the drought, many plants on the reserve were destroyed by porcupines, which are known to eat a variety of foods, including the stems of aloe plants, during drought when their primary food and water sources become scarce. In 2021, it was found that 60% of the sampled populations had been destroyed by porcupines since 2016. Following this, Renu-Karoo intern, Stefan Short set up fences around plants in a range of sizes to conserve them, and to keep the porcupines from eliminating the reserve’s whole Aloe claviflora population.

An Exciting Project Underway: WCRO Research and Education Centre

Through research and knowledge sharing we aim to inspire local communities and future generations to care for the land that sustains them and drive support for conservation and sustainable land management across the region. To bring this vision to life, we are embarking on an exciting new chapter: the creation of a dedicated Research Centre and Karoo knowledge hub in the heart of Prince Albert.

Our vision is to build a vibrant, welcoming space on van Dyk Street that will include a lecture hall for 30 people and a library/archive (Figures 1 and 2). This archive will initially house the Karoo archaeological and literature collections of Dr. Judy Maguire, the ornithological library and data of Dr. Richard Dean, and the botanical library of Dr Sue Milton-Dean. From rare books to digital resources, these collections will be accessible to researchers, students, and the community at large.

Beyond its walls, the grounds will feature medicinal gardens and engaging displays of the history and culture of the indigenous peoples of the area. Visitors will discover rich stories of the pre-colonial lifestyles, including traditional dwellings, foods, artwork, and trade routes that shaped the region. Our model draws inspiration from the acclaimed Gamkaberg Nature Reserve displays in the Little Karoo.

The lecture hall will host workshops, training sessions, and public talks on topics ranging from geology, hydrology, ecology and archaeology to conservation, indigenous knowledge, and cultural history of the southern Karoo. We aim to spark curiosity and cultivate a deep appreciation of this unique landscape in the minds of school groups, researchers, and visitors.

Our Research Centre will not only complement the renowned Fransie Pienaar cultural history Museum in Prince Albert but also serve as a dynamic environmental knowledge hub for the southern Karoo. It will strengthen conservation efforts, promote research, and boost education, tourism, and environmental stewardship in this extraordinary part of South Africa.

Architect’s drawings ot the Wolwekraal Research and Education Centre

The project building cost will be R1.3 million. Funds from the estate of ornithologist and Wolwekraal Nature Reserve founder, Dr Richard Dean, and from other sources amount to R950,000. We are seeking R350 000 to complete the project. We invite you to be part of this journey. With your support, we can build a centre of learning and inspiration that will help protect and celebrate the Karoo for generations to come.

If you would like to contribute towards construction, outfitting, maintenance and marketing of the Wolwekraal Research Centre please contact the owner of Wolwekraal Nature reserve, Dr Sue Milton-Dean by email wklconsresorg@gmail.com or WhatApp 0827700206.

Please visit our campaign on Back-a-Buddy should you wish to donate:

Progress on the building of the Research and Education Centre

Upcoming Events

Prince Albert Open Gardens is happening on 4-5 October 2025. Encouraging waterwise, sustainable gardening and garden biodiversity, this event shows unique Great Karoo gardens, a host of talks, walks, book launches, and workshops, including some guided walks on Wolwekraal Nature Reserve!

We are grateful for the support we get from Prince Albert Open Gardens, and a percentage of their ticket sales goes towards our conservation efforts on the reserve.

Visit the website and book tickets here:

Book a Guided Walk on Wolwekraal Nature Reserve, guided by our resident ecologist Sue Milton-Dean, who has extensive knowledge of Karoo natural history, veld management and restoration. She is ably assisted at times by other local residents with considerable knowledge of local conditions, fauna, flora and archaeology. The two-hour walk is an eye-opening experience, ideal for anyone curious and keen to discover the less obvious and fascinating lives of plants, animals and the people who walked the Karoo landscapes before us. The walk is popular in school holidays, as children are generally more observant than adults, they find plenty to keep them amused. Sue and other guides welcome questions and are happy to discuss such topics as medicinal plants, veld management, veld restoration, soils, geology, archaeology and history depending on your particular interest in the area.

The walk is about 2 km and takes place on a fairly flat, desert landscape, and is suitable for all ages. We limit groups to 10 people per guide.

Contact Sue on 082 770 0206

Get Involved

Wolwekraal Nature Reserve relies on an income generated from guided nature walks on the reserve, as well as public support and donations to cover annual running costs and ongoing conservation efforts. We have recently put together an initiative whereby people can support a chosen area of conservation on the reserve, The six key themes are: aardvark burrow-dependent wildlife, vulnerable plants, wild bee populations, maintaining waterholes, tracking wildlife with cameras, and relocation and release of reptiles from potential urban threats to a safe habitat on the reserve.

By supporting vital conservation areas, you can help ensure the long-term survival of species and their habitats. Contributions will fund habitat protection, species monitoring and research, restoration of damaged Karoo habitats, anti-poaching and conservation efforts, general reserve operations, trail maintenance, and education and outreach projects.

Every contribution, big or small, strengthens our conservation work. For more details, click below.

Thank you for being part of Wolwekraal’s journey! By supporting conservation, you’re helping protect the heritage, plants, animals, and wild spaces that make the Karoo so unique. Together, we can ensure a thriving reserve for generations to come.

With gratitude,

Wolwekraal Conservation and Research Organisation