Table Bay Nature Reserve-The Daily Ledger

The Table Bay Nature Reserve is an nature reserve in Milnerton, Western Cape, South Africa. It consists of several smaller constituent reserves including Rietvlei Wetland Reserve, Diep River Fynbos Corridor, Zoarvlei Wetlands, Milnerton Racecourse Nature Reserve, and Milnerton Lagoon, as well as surrounding protected areas. These adjacent reserves were amalgamated on 27 June 2012, in order to improve the biodiversity management in the built-up area. It is managed by the City of Cape Town's Environmental Resource Management Department, with offices at Rietvlei.

The Table Bay Nature Reserve forms the southernmost buffer area of the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve, and links it to the edge of Cape Town's city centre. It also contains a large portion of the critically endangered lowland habitats remaining in Cape Town.

Table Bay Nature Reserve

The central feature in the Table Bay Nature Reserve is the Rietvlei wetland system. The Rietvlei Wetlands and Milnerton Lagoon were proclaimed as a Nature Area on 3 August 1984, in proclamation number 1632 of Provincial Gazette No. 9345. The Nature Reserve is partly owned by the City of Cape Town and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature – South Africa, who own two of the Erven. The City of Cape Town manages these two Erven on a 99-year lease for the purposes of nature conservation.

Table Bay Nature Reserve

Biodiversity

Fauna and flora in the reserve include the following:

Table Bay Nature Reserve

Mammals

Indigenous

Bathyergidae

Bathyergus suillus (Cape dune mole-rat) Cryptomys hottentotus (common mole-rat) Georychus capensis (Cape mole-rat) Bovidae Raphicerus campestris (steenbok) Raphicerus melanotis (Cape grysbok) Sylvicapra grimmia (common duiker) Canidae Vulpes chama (Cape fox) Chrysochloridae Cryptochloris asiatica a.k.a. Chrysochloris asiatica (Cape golden mole) Felidae Felis caracal (caracal) Herpestidae Atilax paludinosus (water mongoose) Cynictis penicillata (yellow mongoose) Galerella pulverulenta (Cape gray mongoose) Herpestes ichneumon (Egyptian mongoose) Hystricidae Hystrix africaeaustralis (Cape porcupine) Leporidae Lepus capensis (Cape hare) Lepus saxatilis (scrub hare) Muridae Dendromus melanotis (gray climbing mouse) Mus musculus (house mouse) Otomys irroratus (vlei rat) Otomys unisulcatus (bush vlei rat) Rattus rattus (black rat) Rhabdomys pumilio (striped field mouse) Tatera afra (Cape gerbil) Mus indutus (desert pygmy mouse) Mustelidae; Aonyx capensis (Cape clawless otter) Mellivora capensis (honey badger) Soricidae Myosorex varius (forest shrew) Vespertilionidae Eptesicus capensis (Cape serotine bat) Viverridae Genetta genetta (small-spotted genet) Genetta tigrina (Cape genet)

Introduced

Canidae

Canis lupus familiaris a.k.a. Canis familiaris (domestic dog) Felidae Felis silvestris catus a.k.a. Felis catus (domestic cat)

Reptiles

Chamaeleonidae

Bradypodion pumilum (Cape dwarf chameleon) Bradypodion occidentale (Namaqua dwarf chameleon)

Colubridae

Psammophylax rhombeatus (rhombic skaapsteker) Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia (herald snake) Dasypeltis scabra (common eggeater) Dispholidus typus (boomslang) Duberria lutrix lutrix (common slugeater) Lamprophis aurora (Aurora house snake) Lamprophis fuscus (yellow-bellied house snake) Lamprophis inornatus (olive house snake) Lycodonomorphus rufulus (common brown water snake) Psammophis crucifer (cross-marked grass snake), (crossmarked grass snake) Psammophis leightoni (Cape sand snake) Psammophis notostictus (Karoo sand snake) Pseudaspis cana (mole snake) Chamaesaura anguina (Cape grass lizard)

Elapidae

Homoroselaps lacteus (spotted harlequin snake) Naja nivea (Cape cobra)

Gekkonidae

Afrogecko porphyreus (marbled leaf-toed gecko), (marbled leaftoed gecko) Pachydactylus geitje (ocellated thick-toed gecko), (ocellated thicktoed gecko)

Gerrhosauridae

Gerrhosaurus flavigularis (yellow-throated plated lizard)

Lacertidae

Meroles knoxii (Knox's desert lizard)

Leptotyphlopidae

Leptotyphlops nigricans (black thread snake)

Pelomedusidae

Pelomedusa subrufa (marsh terrapin)

Scincidae

Acontias meleagris meleagris (Cape legless skink) Scelotes bipes (silvery dwarf burrowing skink) Trachylepis capensis (Cape skink) Typhlosaurus caecus (Cuvier's blind legless skink) Trachylepis homalocephala (red-sided skink), (redsided skink)