Through various research projects, ranging from public bird surveys to camera trap studies, the Forestry Industry has identified over 30 mammal species, 502 bird species and countless reptile, amphibian and insect species that call our forestry-owned land home. This includes a number of rare and endangered species. These figures most probably only scratch the surface of the total number of species living there, as only a small portion of them are surveyed.
With approximately 1.5 million hectares of forestry-owned land (which includes the 1.2 million hectares of timber plantations and approximately 300 000 hectares of conserved areas), stretching from Limpopo, through Mpumalanga, KZN and the Eastern Cape to the Western Cape, it is impossible to survey it all. However, as huge areas of forestry-owned land are accessible to the public, with your help we can keep tabs on some of our priority species.
We have made this handy printable infographic to help identify some of the priority species that call our forestry-owned land home. Hopefully, you will spot one or more of these amazing creatures and if you do, please send us the date, location (GPS if you have it) and time, along with any photos you might have captured. Send this information to info@forestryexplained.co.za and by doing this you will be helping us to make a positive contribution to biodiversity conservation in South Africa.
click here: searching-for-species infographic