Data Zone
Country/territory: South Africa
IBA Criteria met: A1, A2, A3 (1998)
For more information about IBA criteria please click here
Area: 508 ha
Protection status:
| Most recent IBA monitoring assessment | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment | Threat score (pressure) | Condition score (state) | Action score (response) |
| 2014 | medium | near favourable | medium |
| For more information about IBA monitoring please click here | |||
Site description
Entumeni is located 8 km west of Eshowe. Most of the site slopes steeply. The Ngoje river, which rises just outside the reserve, runs through the forest. The greater part of the site is coastal scarp forest. Common trees include Ficus, Calodendrum, Zanthoxylum, Millettia and Margaritaria. Podocarpus is rare, but there are few saw-pits, and commercial exploitation of the forest has been slight. The understorey is very rich; typical trees are Rawsonia and Rinorea, with Duvernoia along drainage lines. Two patches of grassland, totalling 34 ha, are also present on the site, as is a further 38 ha of lightly wooded grassland.
Key biodiversity
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. The forest holds a small breeding population of the globally threatened Zoothera guttata. The forest also holds the following important species: Columba delegorguei, Cossypha dichroa and Cercotrichas signata. Lioptilus nigricapillus and Bradypterus barratti occur as uncommon winter visitors. Polemaetus bellicosus breeds in the reserve, and a family of Bucorvus cafer includes the Entumeni grasslands in its territory. The forest also supports Smithornis capensis, Telophorus olivaceus, Mandingoa nitidula and Tchagra tchagra.
Non-bird biodiversity: The forest is botanically diverse. Three rare trees, Alchornea hirtella, Millettia sutherlandii and Cryptocarya wyliei are present, as is the orchid Eulophia speciosa and the cycad Encephalartos villosus. The population of the latter is the most important in South Africa, and extensive stands occur.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2020) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Entumeni Nature Reserve. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 24/01/2020.
