Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Blouberg is an isolated inselberg that lies to the west of the Soutpansberg range, some 80 km west of Louis Trichardt. This small rugged pinnacle rises sharply from the surrounding plateau that lies, on average, at 1,000 m. Peaks such as Sesuane (1,552 m), Lenare (1,385 m) and the summit Gamonnaasenamoriri (2,051 m) dominate the massif. The site is defined as the portion of the inselberg lying above the 1,100 m contour line.The mountain slopes are covered by north-eastern mountain sourveld. The scrubby thornveld of the mountain slopes includes woody species of
Phymaspermum,
Lippia and
Stoebe. On the lower and mid-slopes, sourish mixed bushveld dominates, generally as an open savanna dominated by
Acacia and
Dichrostachys trees, with
Combretum,
Rhus,
Grewia and
Dombeya less common. The mountain’s higher slopes and plateau are covered in some areas by scattered
Protea bushes. Small patches of Afromontane forest are found in valleys and moist basins throughout Blouberg, with forest trees of
Rapanea,
Xymalos,
Podocarpus and
Trichocladus.
See Box for key species. The cliffs at Blouberg regularly hold between 600 and 800 pairs of
Gyps coprotheres, making it the world’s second-largest colony. While most birds breed at the main colony, a few pairs breed elsewhere on the Blouberg, at satellite colonies such as Leipsig, Glenferness and Millbank. The satellite colonies are only occasionally active. The surrounding woodland holds
Bucorvus cafer,
Eupodotis ruficrista,
Mirafra passerina,
Bradornis mariquensis,
Turdoides bicolor,
Cossypha humeralis,
Cercotrichas paena,
Calamonastes fasciolatus,
Eremomela usticollis,
Telophorus quadricolor,
Eurocephalus anguitimens,
Sporopipes squamifrons,
Uraeginthus granatina and
Estrilda erythronotos.
Non-bird biodiversity: The Blouberg is the only home to the reptile Platysaurus monotropis, which is endemic to this set of inselbergs. Platysaurus guttatus and Lygodactylus nigropuncatus (endemic subspecies L. n. montiscaeruli is restricted to the Blouberg) have global ranges restricted to the Blouberg, Soutpansberg (IBA ZA002) and nearby Waterberg (IBA ZA006), although the latter species also occurs patchily elsewhere in the central Northern Province. The Blouberg foothills also hold Platysaurus minor.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Both Blouberg East Nature Reserve (363 ha) and Blouberg West Nature Reserve (4,828 ha), which fall within the site, were declared in 1983. Poisonings of vultures, which are regularly recorded in the district, pose a potential threat to the colony. The bulk of farming in the district is for cattle, game and other large stock. Although farmers seldom set traps to combat mammalian predators such as jackal, caracal and domestic dogs, poison is still used indiscriminately. Vultures are used extensively for traditional, medicinal and ceremonial purposes and are targeted by rural residents who use poisoned carcasses to kill them.Depleted food supply, with subsequent loss of vital nutrients in the diet, may result in increased mortalities as a consequence of metabolic bone disease, osteodystrophy, and other physiological abnormalities. Recreational mountaineering, collisions with man-made structures, human encroachment and environmental pollution all threaten the survival of this colony. Breeding success can fluctuate alarmingly in this species. The sudden loss of birds from the Karringmelkspruit colony in the Eastern Cape, where the colony collapsed from over 800 birds to none in approximately 25 years, serves as a warning that mismanagement of the larger colonies can result in dramatic population crashes over short periods of time. The Blouberg vultures forage quite widely, regularly travelling to the plains north of the Soutpansberg (IBA ZA002) and into Botswana’s Tuli Block. An awareness programme for local farmers, land-users and residents should be initiated to promote the conservation of
Gyps coprotheres in the area.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Blouberg (South Africa). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/blouberg-iba-south-africa on 11/01/2025.
