About The KKBR
What is the Klein Karoo?
The Klein (“Little”) Karoo is one of the most ecologically diverse regions on the planet. It is a transition zone in southwestern South Africa, straddling two biodiversity hotspots: the cool, moist Cape Floristic Province, containing more than 9,000 species of plants, and the hot, dry Succulent Karoo Province with 6,350 species. A single hectare may contain more than 60 different species of plants, and roughly half of the species are endemic to the region. These plants host hundreds of other species of herbivores and pollinators, nectar-feeders, and seed-eaters. While rich in unique species, it occupies only narrow strip of South Africa, between the coastal Oteniqua-Langberg Mountains to the south, and to the north lie the Swartberg Range separating it from the hot, expansive desert of the Great Karoo.
In historic times, this region hosted a dense population of large mammals, including herds of springbok that numbered in the millions. Long gone are the elephant, hippo, lion, cheetah, spotted hyena, cape hunting dog, black rhino, red hartebeest, and Cape buffalo that ranged throughout the land, as did the now-extinct bluebuck and quagga. Unmanaged hunting and habitat loss due to farming and ranching were primary causes of these declines, but many smaller mammal species still thrive in the region. Over 260 different bird species live here or migrate through, and the region contains a high diversity of reptiles and many endemic insects.
Klein Karoo Conservation
Much of the Klein Karoo has been taken over by farming, and even more is being used as pasture for cattle and sheep, yet the majority of the Klein Karoo still contains vast areas of land that maintain its rare biodiversity. Those areas that have been degraded by grazing can be restored over time. Many landowners see the ecological value of their land and strive to maintain it, or even improve it. Cape Nature and a diversity of non-profit organizations are working with these landowners to manage and conserve their land, restore native vegetation, and bring back native wildlife. In the larger picture, these private lands are reservoirs of biodiversity within a region facing much change, and as a collective of protected lands, provide ecological stepping-stones between the larger protected areas within the region. These wildlife corridors are essential for the large-scale movement of species throughout the region, and will even help the recovery of rare species in the region, such as the Cape leopard.
Who We Are
Heather B. Constable, Ph.D. is a geneticist, biodiversity data scientist, GIS specialist, and is the KKBR Biodiversity Assessment and Data Analyst of Susceptible Species. She received her Ph.D. in marine biology from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand for the study of population genetics, and currently works with the University of California Natural Reserve System at UC Riverside. Her interests are in biogeography, the effects of climate change on species distributions, and the role of protected lands in long-term conservation. Dr. Constable is also highly skilled in the development and maintenance of the field and research facilities.
Douglas J. Long, Ph.D. is a museum-based researcher and university professor of more than 30 years, teaching in areas of zoology, ecology, animal behavior, conservation, evolutionary biology, and earth sciences, including month-long field courses in South African wildlife biology for his students. Dr. Long worked at the California Academy of Sciences for more than a decade, and is still a research associate; later as the Chief Curator of Natural Sciences at the Oakland Museum of California, and is now Curator of Natural History at the Museum of Riverside. As a science communicator, Dr. Long has been featured in numerous television & radio programs, including the BBC, CNN, PBS, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic.
The idea of the KKBR was originated and implemented by Philipp Schulz, a naturalist who was raised on a mango farm in Kenya, and later established a wildlife reserve on that country’s Malindi coast. Now based in Cape Town, South Africa, he is a multi-lingual gentleman adventurer, avid sportsman, professional taxidermist, bird watcher, and self-proclaimed “ungulate nerd”. Philipp has been hard at work developing the infrastructure within the reserves, maintaining the camera trap system, and is the acting emissary of the KKBR to the local communities.
Hendrik Louw grew up just outside Cape Town on the slopes of Table Mountain in the Devil’s Peak Nature Reserve. His father was section ranger for Cape Nature in the 1980’s, and Hendrik spent every spare moment with him along the mountain range from Signal Hill to Silvermine Reserve. As a teenager in 1993, he took a holiday job at World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary in Hout Bay, working his way up from cleaning staff, climbing the ranks to eventually becoming the general manager. Today, he oversees the day to day care of over 3000 animals. Hendrik has successfully cared for and bred most South African bird & mammal species, including the Honey Badger (the KKBR mascot) and the Blue Crane, South Africa’s national bird. At the KKBR, he coordinated and manages the relocation and release of springbok, blesbok, and hartebeest into the reserves, and keeps check on the wildlife from his nearby Owl Cottage.
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