Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The Tswapong Hills lie in the hardveld of eastern Botswana, east of the town of Palapye. They arise from a sandy plain dominated by mopane woodland. The hills, which extend for 67 km in an east–west direction, are mainly sandstone and on the steeper slopes the vegetation is dominated by
Croton. There are gorges with precipitous cliffs and seasonal streams, and exposed rock faces around the edge of the hills and along some watercourses.
See Box for key species.
Gyps coprotheres currently breeds at three sites within the Tswapong Hills. The species has probably bred there for well over a century but the existence of some former and current breeding sites, Machibaba and Kukubye at Lerala, and Manong Yeng, was not documented until 1976. The Machibaba site was abandoned in 1984. In the same year, breeding sites at Bonwalenong and Sebale were discovered; Seolwane was colonized in 1986, but the colony here dwindled and finally disappeared in 1990 whilst that at Kukubye suffered a similar fate due to direct persecution. In the 1980s, the number of breeding pairs increased from 240 in 1984 to 325 in 1992, although the total number of birds appeared to be declining. Bonwalanong, having undergone a large increase since 1989, was the most important breeding site in 1992, with over 200 pairs, and Manong Yeng then supported around 90 pairs. Nine nests were also found at Kukubye in 1992. As of 2001, the decline in numbers of
Gyps coprotheres appears to have halted.
Non-bird biodiversity: Two species or subspecies of butterflies are endemic to the Tswapong Hills.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Direct persecution and disturbance have affected breeding sites in the Tswapong Hills. Continuing increases in the population and extent of villages have contributed to the abandonment of small breeding sites. Predation by
Aquila verreauxi is a cause of some nest losses. Although there is no evidence that a shortage of food or accidental poisoning are causing serious losses, there is concern about the small number of immature birds seen at breeding colonies. This may be due to a high mortality rate of young birds or alternatively young birds may emigrate from the area. In 1996, the Kalahari Conservation Society embarked upon a community-based conservation project in the Tswapong Hills to help local people to use the area in a sustainable way and to develop the hills as a conservation area, thereby deriving direct income from tourism or tourist-based industries. A veld product and vegetation survey of the hills was also undertaken in early 1996.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Tswapong Hills (Botswana). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/tswapong-hills-iba-botswana on 22/12/2024.
