Dexters survive for decades in national park

The relocation of a feral herd of 16 Dexters that lived in the Addo Elephant National Park's Wilderness area has caught the attention of scientists after the South African Dexter Cattle Breeders' Society became aware of the herd roaming in the park a few years ago. The society initiated the relocation of the animals to Bronkhorstspruit in Gauteng, writes Annelie Coleman.

- Annelie Coleman

According to Paul Summerford, a board member of the South African Dexter Cattle Breeders' Society (SA Dexters), 16 feral Dexter cattle that had lived for decades without any human contact in the Addo Elephant National Park have adapted well after relocation earlier this year.

The Addo park boasts a dense elephant population, and the cattle herd had been thriving among predators such as lions and leopards until the time of being moved to Bronkhorstspruit in Gauteng. The animals survived about 27 years in the park. The first members of the herd escaped from a nearby farm belonging to Dr Chris Landman. Since then, the cattle have lived in the park without any human interaction until their removal earlier this year. Landman donated the animals to the society, and earlier this year they were darted and brought to the farm of Kobus van der Linde, the society's chairperson.

"What was very interesting was that the animals, despite the lack of any human contact, remained in excellent physical condition. After the herd was removed the animals had to go through a period of adaptation to acclimatise them to animal feed other than the vegetation available in the park.

"It must be kept in mind that the park includes five of South Africa's nine biomes, including the Albany thicket, fynbos, forests and Nama karoo and coastal dunes and grassy plains.

"The spekboom (Portulacaria afra) predominates in the area," Summerford explains.

He says that one of the reasons behind the removal of the cattle was that black-maned lions from the Kalahari were introduced to the Addo national park about 15 years ago. These lions, as opposed to lions from, for example, the Kruger National Park, were introduced because they were disease-free and would not affect the buffalo population, which may otherwise have contracted tuberculosis (TB).