As drought conditions in KwaZulu Natal persist and even deteriorate, concerns have been raised for the province’s wildlife in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the Hluhluwe-uMfolozi Game Reserve.

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According to a statement from the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, water levels in the lakes, rivers, wetlands and pans in the park are very low as a result of the prolonged drought in the region. Although the situation is not dramatic yet, according to Andrew Zaloumis, iSimangaliso CEO, if the region doesn’t get rains this summer, the condition could well become extremely dire, as it takes the system longer to bounce back when lake levels have been very low and salinity high for a prolonged period.

“Lake St Lucia is in a better state than during the previous drought, which spanned eight years from 2002 to 2010 when there were extremely low water levels, desiccation of large areas of the lake, and extreme hypersalinity,” says Zaloumis, adding that rehabilitation work undertaken in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park has gone a long way in improving the resilience of the park to extreme weather patterns.

According to Zaloumis, the tourism experience has not been affected, as all the main tourism accommodation facilities are equipped for low rain periods and have back-up water supplies. He told Tourism Update: “During droughts, the iSimangaliso tourism experience can be heightened as game viewing becomes easier and the range of birds in the system shifts towards pelicans, flamingoes and other estuarine species. Lake St Lucia is a dynamic system with shifting salinity levels.  This is one of the values that contributed to it being listed a World Heritage Site.  So during drier times estuarine species pick up.  The lake also becomes important as a refuge for birds across the region.”  

Spokesperson for Ezemvelo, Musa Mntambo, agrees that the northern parks have experienced dry conditions in the recent past and says that if these conditions persist, it has the potential to affect the animals. 

Mntambo says, however, that so far, the drought has not affected tourism activities. “Our resorts still have water and tourists who visit our areas are not at all affected as yet. We have not yet lost any animals due to drought and we have not even considered implementing our management plans that we normally implement during long dry seasons.”