Documenting historical faunal change in Lesotho and the adjoining eastern Free State of southern Africa
Date
2010-08-27
Authors
Morake, Puleng
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Abstract
Lesotho has been subjected to tremendous biodiversity changes over the last two centuries,
primarily due to an ever increasing pressure on land settlement and the extraction of Natural
resources. Lesotho is therefore in the process of preserving biodiversity through the establishment
of nature reserves. If there are plans to introduce new or reintroduce past species, past biogeographical
patterns of fauna need to be established. The aim of this study is to use documentary
evidence, oral history approaches and archaeological reports to establish relative species
occurrence and timing of species extinctions; and to also establish the general causes of species
disappearance.
Documentary sources studied were written in English, French and Sesotho between 1833 and
1978. The period after 1978 was studied through the use of oral interviews within several villages
in Lesotho. Archaeological information reviewed supplied information about fauna in the region
of Lesotho and eastern Free State during the Holocene. The use of these three methods provides a
timeline for the existence of faunal species from the Holocene to the present in the region.
The beginning of the 19th Century saw the extinction of several large mammals in Lesotho and
the eastern Free State. The blue antelope had already become globally extinct during this time.
According to documented evidence quagga occurred in the region of Lesotho and the eastern Free
State until the 1870s, after which it became globally extinct. Lions and hippopotami occurred
until the 1870s and 1890s respectively. Most large antelope such as the wildebeest (blue and
black), red hartebeest and springbok also occurred within the region during the mid and late 19th
Century after which they disappeared. Eland are still an occasional visitor to the Sehlabathebe
National Park. Smaller antelope such as oribi and klipspringer still occur in some parts of Lesotho
though in very small numbers. Grey rhebok are, however, still common in the highlands.
Baboons, even though significantly decreased in numbers, still occur in packs in several places
within Lesotho.
Approximately 40 species of mammals, several species of birds and reptiles have been identified
as presently existing in Lesotho and the surrounding eastern Free State. There have been reports
of mammals which are unlikely to occur in Lesotho, both historical and present, and these have
been identified. The causes of species decline have been attributed to increased population growth, which leads to
over-hunting and more importantly to a decrease in the habitat available for wildlife. Most causes
are anthropogenic, caused by increased competition of resources between man and wildlife. Other
causes have been in the form of extreme climatic events such as snow and drought.