On the 25th of May, a resident from Birkdale village contacted Rabie to inform them of a dead male Grysbok that had lodged itself between the posts of the palusade fencing of Royal Ascots’ Northern Reserve. The palusade had to be cut for the animal to be removed, but unfortunately it died shortly after. The Grysbok, one of our population of 7 within the reserve was taken to the Tableview Vet for a post- mortem. Bitemarks from a dog were discovered on its leg, and it is assumed that the buck was chased and cornered by dogs in the reserve and tried to escape, at which points it got stuck and was attacked by the dogs.
The sad truth of the matter is that there are 3 clear signs at the entrance to this reserve notifying visitors that no dogs are allowed. It is terrible incidents like these that are the result of blatant disregard for measures in place that try to ensure the safety of the wildlife within the boundaries of this well managed sanctuary.
The Environmental Management Committee can and will issue fines of up to R 5000.00 for perpetrators who chose to ignore the rules of being able to use these facilities.
It was only a month earlier, that a successful relocation was achieved, where two of Atlantic Beaches’ Grysbok population were introduced into our reserve to improve the gene pool, while 2 of ours were captured, microchipped and released there. This took months of careful research and planning for the appropriate permits to be acquired, for transportation, and a team of vets, rangers, parks officials and wildlife enthusiasts to be assembled and ensure the operation ran smoothly. Please read more about this in the TableBay Quarterly Report.