Mammals in the mountains: An historical review and updated checklist of the mammals of the Mountain Zebra National Park

Abstract

South Africa boasts a network of 20 national parks that are situated across a range of vegetation biomes. The primary function of these national parks is to protect the ecological integrity of these various natural ecosystems for current and future generations (Bezuidenhout & Brown 2008). However, several national parks within this network were originally gazetted in an attempt to preserve a single species (often large mammals) because of pressure from over-hunting or poaching (e.g. Addo Elephant National Park and Bontebok National Park). The Mountain Zebra National Park (hereafter MZNP) is one such ‘single-species’ national park. The park was founded in 1937 to protect the endangered Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra). To sustain the viability of the mountain zebra population, the park was extended in 1964 and 1996 by incorporating various farms adjacent to the park (Bezuidenhout & Brown 2008). The park was expanded again in 2002, but by this stage, the conservation and management focus had shifted more towards the conservation of biodiversity as a whole, rather than just the viability of the mountain zebra population (SANParks 2016).