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Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Itala Game Reserve is located 15 km from Louwsburg in the rolling hills south of the Pongola river. Drainage lines and deep valleys, extending predominantly north–south, and opening mostly into the Pongola river basin, cleave the area. This results in an extremely varied topography and rugged terrain, with steep rocky cliff-faces and deep gorges dissected by numerous streams with a network of pools. The area varies in altitude from 350 m at the Pongola river to 1,550 m on the plateau to the west of Louwsburg.
Three woodland-types are recognized: one is found in the valley bottoms, another at intermediate altitudes, and the third on the highest plateau. The lowland community is dominated by trees of
Acacia,
Combretum,
Ficus and
Albizia. The middleveld also holds
Acacia and
Combretum (especially on stony hill-slopes), as well as
Faurea,
Protea,
Pavetta and
Cussonia. Along the watercourses
Combretum,
Ziziphus,
Rhus and
Catha are found. The region on the high plateau, above 1,250 m, is open and treeless and dominated by grass. Bulbous geophytes are common and the shrub community is dominated by
Euclea and
Leucosidea.
See Box and Table 3 for key species. The reserve is known to support over 300 bird species. This diversity can be attributed to the reserve’s ecotonal nature and the variety of habitats it supports. The riverine forest provides habitat for many of the more secretive, river-dependent species such as
Podica senegalensis,
Gorsachius leuconotus and
Alcedo semitorquata. The mountainous cliffs hold a colony of
Geronticus calvus. Several large raptor species that are rare outside South Africa’s large parks occur here, including
Gyps africanus,
Torgos tracheliotus,
Polemaetus bellicosus,
Terathopius ecaudatus and
Aquila rapax.
Bucorvus cafer,
Neotis denhami,
Eupodotis senegalensis and
Tyto capensis occur in the grassland areas in small numbers. The thicket and forest areas support
Poicephalus cryptoxanthus and
Telophorus quadricolor, both East African Coast specials.
Non-bird biodiversity: Several mammal species have been reintroduced here, including Ceratotherium simum (LR/cd), Diceros bicornis (CR), Loxodonta africana (EN) and Acinonyx jubatus (VU), and there is a naturally occurring population of Hyaena brunnea (LR/nt).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Historically the area was situated in the Vryheid Republic. It bordered on South Africa’s first ever—if short-lived—game reserve, the Pongola Game Reserve, proclaimed in 1895. Originally proclaimed in 1973, Itala has been enlarged over the years with the acquisition of additional farmland. The area is owned by the state and administered by the KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service. The areas that were previously farmland are recovering from overgrazing and erosion from the cultivation of slopes. However, most of the area was minimally modified, and is still a region of exceptional diversity, a function of its topography, geology and geographical position. Many of the larger mammals were historically hunted out of the region, but have been reintroduced from surrounding KwaZulu-Natal reserves. The main conservation problems are soil erosion, and especially the control of invasive non-native plants. This latter task would be greatly eased if continual reinfestation, from the presently unconserved north bank of the Pongola river, could be addressed.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ithala Game Reserve (South Africa). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ithala-game-reserve-iba-south-africa on 22/12/2024.
