Unique game reserve in Zululand models benefits of wildlife economy

Claire Keeton this week visited the Babanango Game Reserve, in KwaZulu-Natal, and observed how this once-degraded land, now owned largely by community trusts, has become a model for conservation and the wildlife economy

30 June 2024 - 00:00

Monkeys chatter in alarm when a crowned eagle swoops over them. A dehorned black rhino gallops onto a ridge and stops, staring down at us before disappearing into the rose-gold twilight at Babanango Game Reserve, in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Babanango, in the heart of Zululand and the White Umfolozi River Valley, is unique (https://babanango.com/). Three community trusts own 75% of the land of the reserve, which has been transformed in just six years from eroded grazing into a paradise for wildlife...

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