The tourism industry is very efficient at marketing, within the framework of the special plants and animals that occur around them. Eco-tourism has become a buzz word. Tourists flock to southern Africa to see, smell and hear wildlife.
Does this not mean that the tourist industry should then show some responsibility towards the environment and actively take steps to protect the wildlife that is benefiting their business? There has been a huge outcry nationally and wordwide over the poaching of rhino’s but what about when the organisms threatened are insects or plants? Are they insignificant because they lack charisma and their demise is not worth consideration?
Magoebaskloof Hotel
In this article a case study of a hotel in Magoebaskloof, Limpopo Province, South Africa is presented. Magoebaskloof Hotel is uniquely placed for its proximity to the Woodbush afromonane forest and the rugged wildness of the Wolkberg Wilderness area. Wildlife that can be seen in very few places in the world like the Cape Parrot and the Samango Monkey can be observed while taking sundowners or breakfast on the hotel patio.
Botanists and entomologists, however would be more interested in the adjacent grassland which borders the hotel. The Magoebaskloof Hotel is owned by Gmeiner Investments or Orion Real Estate and the premises are rented from Orion Hotels and Resorts. The Orion Group is involved in numerous hotels in South Africa and Swaziland all in very scenic terrain with biodiversity importance.
Special Ant
There is an endemic, Ponerine ant which was only recently named by entomologists as Streblognathus peetersi in the grassland adjacent to the Magoebaskloof hotel (Cuvillier-Hot et al. 2004). Locals know the ant as Monete. The ant was researched by Jolene De Olieveira a master’s student from the University of Pretoria. Specimens were also sent to the USA where the mandibular glands were studied in greater detail. These glands release a pheremone particularly when the ant is under stress which smells like cocoa.
The genus Streblognathus comprises the world’s second largest ants which measure over 20 mm in length. The largest ant Dinoponera gigantean lives in the Brazilian jungle and may measure up to 30 mm or more. Their large size and black shiny carapace make these ants easy to identify. They are often seen scurrying to and fro from a hole in the ground. There is no caste differentiation so workers and soldiers look the same. Males live only for a few days after they have for filled their one purpose in life. Most Ponerine ants are predators and use a sting to kill prey. Even larvae are fed scraps of insects.
Special Plants
Although the whole vegetation type Wooodbush Granite grassland is important (Dzerefos 2004) recently one particular specimen jumped into the lime light. Local botanical photographer Sylvie Kremer-Köhne could not identify a plant she photographed in the grassland next to the hotel.
The following reply was received from Pieter Bester of the South African National Biodiversity Institute.
"The specimen proves to be very interesting – at this time it is an undetermined taxon - it is probably closely related to Aspidoglossum uncinatum. Although there are affinities with A. uncinatum, this latter taxon is restricted to the north east parts of the Eastern Cape Province and it is highly unlikely that the current specimen from Magoebaskloof could be attributed to this taxon. It furthermore does not fit any of the current accepted names and therefore I am of the opinion that it could be a possible species new to science. It is therefore of high conservation importance to maintain the habitat where it was found until its identity can be established or distribution in the area could be established”.
(letter dated 13 October 2011).
Irresponsible building activities
The hotel undertook extensions during 2011, during which time, soil was removed from the grassland and large equipment was driven onto and loaded 10 metres from where the photograph of the special plant was taken. Attempts were made to alert the hotel manager, Gary Blenner-Hassett, to the problem. His reply in an email dated 24 October 2011 was: “We are currently going through Industrial action which started on 7 October and we are running a hotel with 7 to 11 staff versus our normal 55; so I’m sure you will understand why we have been unable to make any appointments for meetings.”
The Outcome
Finally, on 10 November 2011 hotel management met with local conservation authorities and local people. They agreed that the biodiversity of the adjacent grassland will be respected and no further damage will be undertaken duirng the construction operations or therefter.
This real-life example shows that local residents are vital to ensure that South African environmental legislation to protect its biodiversity is applied. This is just one of many threats that occur on a weekly basis. One just has to take a stroll through the grassland once the spring rains have started to be delighted by the array of flowers such as Boophane disticha (Poison bulb) and other plants many of which are used in traditional medicine. At the rate that these plant are being used and abused soon we will have nothing left unless ordinary people start asking questions and taking action.
References
Cuvillier-Hot, V., Lenoir, A. and Peeters, C. 2004. Reproductive monopoly enforced by sterile police workers in a queenless ant Behavioral Ecology. 15( 6): 970–975
Dzerefos, C.M. 2004. Today, yesterday and tomorrow: The story of an African grassland. Veld and Flora. 90(1):18-19. March.
Cathy Dzerefos - Cathy Dzerefos has an M.Sc. (Ecology) from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
