A closer look at Dana Bay wildlife

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Over the last few weeks, the camera traps set up in various greenbelts in Dana Bay have captured all sorts of creatures.

A porcupine, honey badger, Cape bushbuck, Cape grysbok and two different species of mongoose have been spotted, going about their business.

The Wildlife Crime Information Network (WCIN) and Dana Bay Conservancy came up with the initiative so that residents and nature lovers would be able to get more than just a glimpse of the wildlife in the area.

Moreover, important data and information on all the animals in the conservancy will also be collected. So far, most of the footage mostly contains nocturnal animals as they forage for food.

The Dana Bay Conservancy’s chairperson, Erika van der Westhuizen, said camera traps are important monitoring tools, because they allow them to observe wildlife and detect human activity without disturbing the natural behaviour of the wildlife.

Some footage of a marsh mongoose was captured recently. Photo: WCIN

The WCIN’s Leon Rossouw said the cameras, which are motion-activated, provide valuable data on species’ presence, population trends, animal behaviour and illegal activities such as poaching.

“Interesting things happen when animals and nature are left alone,” said Van der Westhuizen.

Nature lovers can see more footage of the Dana Bay animals behind the scenes on the conservancy’s Facebook page (Conservancy Danabaai) under the album ‘Camera Trap’.

If you would like to help the conservancy by sponsoring more cameras for the area, assist with data collection or share your own footage, contact it on 067 490 8396 or the WCIN on 079 643 9556.

A female Cape bushbuck moves down a path near one of the beaches in Dana Bay. Photo: WCIN