Mountain Zebra National Park is a national park in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa; established in July 1937 for the purpose of providing a nature reserve for the endangered Cape mountain zebra. It is surrounded by of the Mountain Zebra-Camdeboo Protected Environment.

History

In the early 1930s, the Cape mountain zebra was threatened with extinction. The National Parks Board of Trustees proclaimed a area for the zebra's preservation in 1938 after the purchase of the farm Babylons Toren, Cradock the year before.

By 1964, there were only 25 zebra in the park. At this time, the park's size was increased to and Paul Michau donated six zebra to the park.

Mammals

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Eland (Taurotragus oryx) male ... (50546149998).jpg|Eland

Red Hartebeests (Alcelaphus buselaphus) drinking ... (32429185761).jpg|Red hartebeest

Gemsboks (Oryx gazella) (50550258972).jpg|Gemsbok

African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) old bull grazing ... (45496148534).jpg|Cape buffalo

Mountain zebras.jpg|Mountain zebra harem

Blesboks (Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi) female and young ... (31806451563).jpg|Blesboks

Springbock im Mountain Zebra National Park.jpg|Springbok

Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) (30507962876).jpg|Black rhinoceros

Caracal Caracal-001.jpg|Caracal

Lioness (Panthera leo) with a full belly ... (46431002144).jpg|Lion

South African Ground Squirrel (Xerus inauris) male (32873570202).jpg|Ground squirrel

Meerkats (Suricata suricatta) sentinels looking out ... (32413471312).jpg|Meerkats

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Birds

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Blue Korhaan (Eupodotis caerulescens) male (30200889041).jpg|Blue korhaan

Pale Chanting Goshawk (Melierax canorus) (32235575673).jpg|Pale chanting goshawk

Blue Cranes (Anthropoides paradiseus) parading (29959840901).jpg|Blue crane

Ostrich (Struthio camelus) male and Black Wildebeest ... (32419039772).jpg|Ostrich

Brown-hooded Kingfisher (Halcyon albiventris) (46169761092).jpg|Brown-hooded kingfisher

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Flora

Species of trees found in the park are:

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Rapanea melanophloeos - cape town 1.jpg|Rapanea melanophloeos (Cape beech)

Rhus_lancea,_foliage_detail.jpg|Rhus lancea ("Karee")

Olivesfromjordan.jpg|Olive

Leucosidea sericea00.jpg|Leucosidea sericea ("Ouhout")

Acacia_karroo0.jpg|Vachellia karroo

Buddleja salvifolia.jpg|Buddleja salviifolia (sage)

</gallery>

Tourism infrastructure

thumb|Doornhoek Guest house

  • 19 Family cottages with 76 beds (each unit sleeps 4 people).
  • One swimming pool (for overnight guests only).
  • One camping terrain with 20 sites, each sleeping a maximum of 6 persons.
  • Ablution and kitchen facilities on camp site
  • One guest house sleeping 6 persons.
  • Two overnight huts sleeping 10 persons each (for hiking trail) with approximately 39&nbsp;km of hiking trails.

Visitor numbers

From 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018, the park received 31,210 visitors up from 27,965 in the previous year. This growth rate of 11.6% placed the park in the top five SANParks for percentage growth in visitors year-on-year.

  • South African National Parks

References