Blouberg Nature Reserve

Blouberg Nature Reserve is a protected area situated close to Vivo, west of Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province, of South Africa. It covers an area of 9,360 hectares (23,100 acres) from the eastern portion of the Blouberg mountain range down to the savanna near the Brak River,[1] and is managed and administrated by the Limpopo Provincial Government.

Blouberg Nature Reserve
Location of the Blouberg Nature Reserve in Limpopo
Blouberg Nature Reserve (South Africa)
LocationLimpopo, South Africa
Nearest cityVivo
Coordinates23°01′S 29°06′E
Area9,360 ha
Governing bodyLimpopo Provincial Government
This article is about the nature reserve in Limpopo. For the associated mountain range, see Blouberg (range).

Topography and habitats

Its topography renders a diverse array of habitats which in-turn accommodate numerous species of plant and animal life. This reserve is well known for the largest breeding colony of Cape vultures in South Africa on its mountainous sector.[2] On the plain sector game is abundant with special mention of Cape buffalo, sable antelope and leopard. It is predominately bushveld savanna with baobabs and tambotis standing prominently on the northern plains. Natural forest occurs on the mountain's southern slopes, which includes a large Outeniqua yellowwood, which was given official protection in 2013.[3]

Visitor facilities

Current accommodation consists of chalets at Mashatu camp, Tamboti tented bush camp, Modumele Wilderness Camp and Molope Camp. A vehicle with high ground clearance is needed, especially for the southern part. Although it is an ideal stop over for the Tuli Block in Botswana, the Mapungubwe National Park on the Zimbabwe border or the northern part of Kruger Park, the reserve is worth a proper visit even by itself.

Animals

Animal species found in the reserve:

Aardvark Aardwolf Southern African wildcat Baboon Black-backed jackal Brown hyena
Buffalo Bushbaby Bushbuck Bushpig Caracal Cheetah
Civet Common duiker Common dwarf mongoose Eland Gemsbuck Giraffe
Honey badger Impala Klipspringer Kudu Rusty-spotted genet Leopard
Mountain reedbuck Pangolin Porcupine Red hartebeest Sable Spotted hyena
Steenbuck Banded mongoose Vervet monkey Warthog Waterbuck Zebra

Bird species found in the reserve:

Acacia pied barbet African black swift African cuckoo African dusky flycatcher African firefinch African fish eagle
African golden oriole African goshawk African grey hornbill African harrier-hawk African hawk-eagle African palm swift
African paradise flycatcher African pipit African pygmy kingfisher African red-eyed bulbul African scops owl Alpine swift
Amethyst sunbird Ant-eating chat Arrow-marked babbler Banded martin Barn owl Barn swallow
Barred wren-warbler Bar-throated apalis Bateleur Bearded scrub robin Bearded woodpecker Black cuckoo
Black stork Black-backed puffback Black-chested snake eagle Black-collared barbet Black-crowned night heron Black-crowned tchagra
Black-faced waxbill Black-headed heron Black-headed oriole Blacksmith lapwing Black-winged kite Black-winged stilt
Blue waxbill Bronze-winged courser Brown snake eagle Brown-backed honeybird Brown-crowned tchagra Brown-hooded kingfisher
Brubru White-browed coucal Burchell's starling Burnt-necked eremomela Bushveld pipit Cape batis
Cape rock thrush Cape starling Cape vulture Cape white-eye Cardinal woodpecker Cattle egret
Chestnut-vented warbler Chinspot batis Cinnamon roller Cinnamon-breasted bunting Collared sunbird Common bulbul
Common buttonquail Common quail Common scimitarbill Common waxbill Crested barbet Crested francolin
Crested guineafowl Crimson-breasted shrike Crowned lapwing Cut-throat finch Dark chanting goshawk Desert cisticola
Diederik cuckoo Double-banded courser Double-banded sandgrouse Egyptian goose Emerald-spotted wood dove Eurasian spoonbill
European bee-eater European nightjar European roller Fiery-necked nightjar Fork-tailed drongo Freckled nightjar
Gabar goshawk Golden-breasted bunting Golden-tailed woodpecker Gorgeous bushshrike Greater blue-eared starling Greater double-collared sunbird
Greater honeyguide Greater painted-snipe Greater striped swallow Green wood hoopoe Green-backed camaroptera Green-backed twinspot
Green-winged pytilia Grey go-away-bird Grey heron Grey penduline tit Grey tit-flycatcher Grey-backed camaroptera
Grey-headed bushshrike Grey-headed kingfisher Groundscraper thrush Hadada ibis Hamerkop Helmeted guineafowl
Hooded vulture Hoopoe Jacobin cuckoo Jameson's firefinch Kalahari scrub robin Karoo thrush
Klaas's cuckoo Knob-billed duck Kori bustard Kurrichane thrush Lanner falcon Lappet-faced vulture
Laughing dove Lesser grey shrike Lesser honeyguide Lesser striped swallow Levaillant's cisticola Levaillant's cuckoo
Lilac-breasted roller Little bee-eater Little sparrowhawk Lizard buzzard Long-billed crombec Long-tailed paradise whydah
Long-tailed widowbird Magpie shrike Malachite kingfisher Marabou stork Marico flycatcher Marico sunbird
Martial eagle Mocking cliff chat Monotonous lark Mountain wheatear Namaqua dove Natal spurfowl
Neddicky Olive bushshrike Orange-breasted bushshrike Ostrich Ovambo sparrowhawk Pale chanting goshawk
Pale flycatcher Pearl-breasted swallow Pearl-spotted owlet Peregrine falcon Pied crow Purple roller
Purple-crested turaco Rattling cisticola Red-backed shrike Red-billed buffalo weaver Southern red-billed hornbill Red-billed oxpecker
Red-billed quelea Red-billed teal Red-breasted swallow Red-capped lark Red-capped robin-chat Red-chested cuckoo
Red-crested korhaan Red-eyed dove Red-faced mousebird Red-headed weaver Red-winged starling Retz's helmetshrike
Ring-necked dove Rock kestrel Rock martin Rufous-naped lark Rüppell's vulture Sabota lark
Scaly-feathered weaver Scarlet-chested sunbird Secretarybird Shikra Sombre greenbul Southern black flycatcher
Southern black tit Southern boubou Southern carmine bee-eater Southern grey-headed sparrow Southern ground hornbill Southern masked weaver
Southern pied babbler Southern pochard Southern red bishop Southern white-crowned shrike Southern white-faced owl Southern yellow-billed hornbill
Speckled mousebird Speckled pigeon Spectacled weaver Spotted eagle-owl Spotted flycatcher Spotted thick-knee
Spur-winged goose Steppe eagle Striped kingfisher Swainson's spurfowl Swallow-tailed bee-eater Tambourine dove
Tawny eagle Tawny-flanked prinia Terrestrial brownbul Three-banded courser Thrush nightingale Verreaux's eagle
Verreaux's eagle-owl Violet-backed starling Violet-eared waxbill Wahlberg's eagle Wattled starling White stork
White-backed vulture White-bellied sunbird White-browed robin-chat White-browed scrub robin White-browed sparrow-weaver White-crested helmetshrike
White-faced whistling duck White-fronted bee-eater White-rumped swift White-throated robin-chat White-winged widowbird Willow warbler
Woodland kingfisher Yellow-bellied eremomela Yellow-bellied greenbul Yellow-billed kite Yellow-breasted apalis Yellow-fronted canary
Yellow-fronted tinkerbird Zitting cisticola

Site locations
Map of the nature reserve
gollark: It may not be a massive amount, but it's *there*, and if possible I don't want to spend it on useless stuff, so I don't.
gollark: 1/20th of my available time awake.
gollark: It's a 20th of my available waking time. It's something, and quite a lot.
gollark: I mean, actually, there might be sound decision-theoretic reasons for a hell, but I don't think those are generally brought up and may not really work well.
gollark: To maintain long-term productivity you *need* to get a reasonable amount of sleep.

See also

References
  1. "Blouberg Nature Reserve". Archived from the original on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  2. Blouberg Nature Reserve, Limpopo
  3. Situated at 23°05′09″S 29°00′09″E. Joemat-Pettersson, Tina (13 September 2013). "Declaration of particular groups of trees as "Champion Trees"" (PDF). cer.org.za. University of Pretoria. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
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