This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(September 2014) |
De Hoop Nature Reserveis a nature reserve in theWestern Cape ProvinceofSouth Africa.
De Hoop Nature Reserve | |
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Location | Western Cape,South Africa |
Nearest city | Bredasdorp |
Coordinates | 34°26′3″S20°32′52″E/ 34.43417°S 20.54778°E |
Area | 34,000 ha (84,000 acres) |
Established | 1957 |
Governing body | CapeNature |
Website | De Hoop Nature Reserve |
Official name | De Hoop Vlei |
Designated | 12 March 1975 |
Reference no. | 34[1] |
It lies three hours fromCape Townin theOverbergregion, nearCape Agulhas,the southern tip ofAfrica.Approximately 340 square kilometres (130 sq mi) in area,[2]it is one of the largest natural areas managed byCapeNature.
De Hoop is one of the components of the "Cape Floral RegionProtected Areas "World Heritage Site.
TheDe Hoop Marine Protected Areaextends threenautical milesout to sea from the coastline of the nature reserve.[3]
History
editIn the mid twentieth-century, the South African government bought the farmsDe HoopandWindhoekwith the intention to establish a wildlife farm for endangered species. In the mid 1970s, the area became dedicated to the conservation of the Cape Floral ecosystem, and became the southernmost nature reserve in Africa.
It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.[4]
Climate
editDe Hoop Nature Reserve's climate is Mediterranean, with warm summers and mild winters. The reserve gets 380 mm of rain annually. August is the wettest month. In summer, winds blow in from the east, west and southeast, whereas winter has westerly and southwesterly winds.[3]
Vegetation
editThe vegetation De Hoop Nature Reserve is part of the world's smallest and most threatened plant kingdom, known as the Cape Floral Kingdom. The reserve also contains one of the largest areas of the rare lowland fynbos.[3]
Animals
editDe Hoop is haven for both terrestrial and marine animals. Numerous species inhabit these habitats. The reserve has a total of 86 mammal species. These include the rarebontebokandCape mountain zebra,eland,grey rhebok,chacma baboon,yellow mongooseandcaracal.Leopard,although rare, are also found in the reserve.[3]
The waters within the De Hoop Reserve support good populations of marine mammals such as dolphins and seals. The bays of De Hoop are the breeding grounds forsouthern right whales.The marine protected area of the reserve has a total of 250 species of fish.[3]
Birds
editDe Hoop supports a large number of resident and migratory bird species. The reserve's total bird species count is 260. Several water birds breed in the reserve. The reserve is also home to the only remaining breeding colony of the rareCape vulture.[3]
Missile Testing
editThe eastern part of the reserve is occasionally used by theDenel Overberg Test Rangefor missile testing. There is no danger to hikers as the reserve closes the area well before the testing date.[3]
Gallery
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De Hoop Nature Reserve
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A beach in the De Hoop Nature Reserve
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Common eland, with a calf
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A southern right whale breaching at De Hoop Nature Reserve
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African penguin
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Cape bulbul
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"De Hoop Vlei".RamsarSites Information Service.Retrieved25 April2018.
- ^"De Hoop Nature Reserve".CapeNature.Retrieved16 September2014.
- ^abcdefg"De Hoop Nature Reserve".CapeNature. Archived fromthe originalon 2 October 2013.Retrieved30 September2013.
- ^"De Hoop Nature Reserve – South Africa – Information, Pictures & Hotels".Neue Welt Reisen.Retrieved20 July2022.
External links
edit- De Hoop Nature Reservetravel guide from Wikivoyage
- De Hoop Nature Reserve