Samara Karoo Reserve, a private reserve in the Eastern Cape, has joined the Global Rewilding Alliance to collaborate and share their experiences of successfully pioneering the rewilding of the Great Karoo area.
Over the past several hundred years, a combination of fences, firearms and farming had stripped this semi-arid region of much of its biodiversity. This all changed in 1997, when the 27 000-hectare reserve’s founders Sarah and Mark Tompkins, felt compelled to restore and rewild the ecosystem.
The Tompkinses consulted expert ecologists to determine the conservation potential of the land before purchasing 11 farms, encompassing five of South Africa's nine vegetation biomes.
They then began the mammoth task of eradicating alien invasive plants, tearing down internal fencing and resting the land for almost a decade. Step-by-step, indigenous animals have been reintroduced to the area, with a focus not only on iconic and endangered species but on the ecosystem processes they promote.
Rewilding milestones have included reintroducing the first cheetahs in 130 years, the first elephants in 150 years, and the first lions in 180 years.
Herds of reintroduced springbok, black wildebeest, Cape mountain zebra and eland also now roam across the reserve. The Tompkinses have a vision to expand the area's conservation estate to a 1.2 million-hectare protected area, which would be South Africa’s third-largest.
Guests at the reserve's three acclaimed lodges, Karoo Lodge, Manor House and Plains Camp, are able to contribute to the various conservation, community and cultural initiatives being run under The Friends of Samara Trust.
As a member of The Long Run, a global community of nature-based tourism businesses, Samara strives to achieve a holistic balance of the “4Cs”, Conservation, Community, Culture and Commerce.
The Global Rewilding Alliance is a worldwide organisation with over 175 partners in 123 countries, working to protect and rewild more than two million hectares of land and sea environments.
