Kasouga Cattle & Small Game with Conservation projects
Cattle sold mcnthly @ the Charlgrove Cattle Pens & commercial young bulls sold out of hand …. Buy good quality stud Bonsmara & Beefmaster bulls yearly.
Game also sold out of hand: Oribi, Blue & Grey Duiker, Bushbuck, Bontebok & Impala) – Three of them being Cities animals. Please contact Jenny on
+27 (0) 84 477 1166 or email at info@oribihaven.co.za if interested in buying.
Kasouga Farm has
- 1495 ha’s of coastal grasslands & thickets with 5kms of beach front (of which 800 ha’s is oribi habitat) managing 140 oribi per year = 5.71 ha’s per oribi.
- Holistic farming principals have been applied involving sustainable utilization with cattle and game.
- We form part of a very successful conservancy, where predator management and control of poaching is the key to success.
Kasouga Farm is a cattle farm with Special emphasis being placed on preservation of our indigenous small game antelope.
Managing animal populations to have the ideal mix of species. The game species we have on the farm are specialist’s species & have specific requirements with respect to the environment, stocking rate, & inter relationship with other species.
(oribi, Bontebok, Impala and cattle).
Using game as a benchmark to assess veld management.
The higher the value, the greater the priority for conservation. Most reserves do not place enough emphasis on the small antelope.
Maintain genetic integrity because of
- man’s infrastructures
- free movement of animals is restricted
- new blood of small groups is crucial
Feet on the ground = Know and look
OUR GOAL : SUSTAINABLE UTIIZATION – PLAN, MONITOR & REPLAN
Conservation Timeline
2020
New international publication: Post-Late Glacial Maximum Palaeoecolgical species integrity, Phylogeography & management of Bontebok.
2018
Awarded the WRSA-Eastern Cape Conservation Ranger of the year.
2016 - to date
Scientific study: understanding genetic diversity of bushbuck in SA. (still on going)
Based on mitochondrial markers it was determined that all the submitted samples (TRA001-039) clustered in a single group, with minor local geographic variation of improved genetic integrity, rather than any species difference of significance.
Read more
2011
Re – Introduced Kasouga Bushbuck to the Muirhead Reserve (between the 2 rivers) in Kenton on Sea, with Kenton Rotary Club.
2011
East Cape Tourism Board: Best Conservation on Natural Heritage
2001
We were one of the 1st to DNA Bontebok in the Eastern Cape.
2000
Participated in a genetics research by EWT , OWG & KZN wildlife.
ORIBI – (Published)
Jansen van Vuuren B, Rushworth I & Montgelard C. 2017. Phylogeography of oribi antelope in South Africa: evolutionary versus anthropogenic panmixia. African Zoology 52(4): 189-197, DOI: 10.1080/15627020.2017. 1386077
All oribi within South Africa are the same subspecies.
We need to buy into the concept of expanding the Oribi habitat and promoting out-breeding between subpopulations across geographic boundaries.
2000
Mangold Conservation Trophy – The best conserved & utilized farm using both cattle and game.
1991
Introduced 7 Bontebok from Thomas Baines Reserve.
1989
Kasouga Farm was declared a Natural Heritage Site. In 1981 there were 14 Oribi. Today we have 140 and relocated 166 Oribi since 1991
Oribi breeding programme
On average Kasouga Farm has approximately 140 Oribi co-habituating with cattle and other game species. Since 1993 we have relocated 192 Oribi. Mixed farming with cattle has definitely proven a success story on the farm. In the Eastern Cape 97% of Oribi are found on privately owned farmland and only 3% on game reserves.
Kasouga Farm has been at the forefront of Oribi conservation and breeding for almost three decades and has been involved in longitudinal studies of numbers as well as in the provision of data for scientific articles about this unique antelope species.
Bontebok breeding programme
In 1939 there were 123 Bontebok in South Africa. By the 1940’s there were very few Bontebok in the National Parks in the Western Cape and some farmers took notice. Five Bontebok arrived at Thornkloof Farm, Grahamstown owned by Mr. Francis Bowker. Around 1968 Mr Bowker gave Bontebok to Thomas Bains Nature Reserve, Grahamstown, who swopped 8 Bontebok with Jeff Currie of Kasouga Farm for 8 Oribi in 1991. This is where our breeding programme began. From 1988 Bontebok herds were registered as pure using the scientifically approved photographic method developed by Fabricius et al., until 2008 when the DNA analysis was developed amid concerns that Bontebok in South Africa may have crossbred with Blesbuck over the years and hence proving and breeding only with DNA pure animals became a necessity. Kasouga Farm has been involved in the Bontebok Breeders Association since its inception and in 2016/2017 together with the association we were involved in a National Bontebok Count along with SANBI to establish accurate numbers of DNA pure Bontebok in South Africa.
Blue duiker breeding
The Blue Duiker is the smallest antelope in Southern Africa and the second smallest in Africa. These animals are indigenous to coastal habitats and live in abundance on Kasouga Farm. We closely monitor our Blue Duiker activity in the coastal bush and have successfully protected them from human disturbance and vermin species as far as possible with wild animals.
Bushbuck breeding
Bushbuck are indigenous to Kasouga Farm and have been thriving for years. The first relocation was in 2011 to Kenton on Sea – Muirhead Reserve with Rotary and we have continued to relocate there annually. We also sell limited parcels out of hand off the farm to buyers who can guarantee that animals will be relocated to the correct habitat and grazing size. Bushbuck are not a CITES animal but clearance for translocation from your permitting office is required.
Feet on the ground = Know and look
OUR GOAL : SUSTAINABLE UTIIZATION – PLAN, MONITOR & REPLAN
