Knysna Wildlife Project

One of the incredible joys of visiting Knysna is experiencing the Wildlife, especially in the Brenton Peninsula. One of the most common antelope species found in the area is Bushbuck. The smaller "cousin" of the Kudu and Nyala, these beautiful browsers are some of the most beautiful and graceful animals to watch. Even though bushbuck can survive in both moist and dry climates, they require habitat that provides enough food and shelter from the predators. Bushbuck are threatened by habitat loss that has already eliminated several populations of these animals. Luckily, bushbuck is still numerous in the wild and it is not listed as endangered species. Interestingly  enough the body of bushbuck are covered with fur which color depends on the habitat. It can be yellow, reddish or brown. Bushbuck that live in dense forest have darker fur as can be seen in the Knysna area. Unlike other antelopes, bushbuck do not tolerate birds that remove insects from their fur and tend ...

This is the story behind our newest member of the Brenton Peninsula Bushbuck Family...  On the morning of the 12th of October 2017, a  doe gave birth to a seemingly healthy fawn. She must have fallen pregnant just before Knysna fires of 7 June 2017 as bushbuck have a gestation period (the duration of the pregnancy) of about 6 months. Unfortunately the young doe left the fawn umbilical cord and all right where she gave birth, now there may be various reasons for this, it could have to do with the recent stress the bushbuck have been going through including a shortage of food, despite the green appearance, most of the plants growing are inedible to the bushbuck, like the Bracken Fern. The truth is we will never really know. Day one went by and mom didn’t return, the same thing happened day two and by day three a very Weak, dehydrated and frightened little fawn still walking around with its afterbirth,...