Mkhambathi Nature Reserve
Coastal nature reserve at Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, South Africa From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mkhambathi Nature Reserve (or Mkambati Nature Reserve)[2] is a protected area at Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is 7,720 hectares (19,100 acres), with the Pondoland Marine Protected Area off its coastal edge. The reserve is located in the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism and the greater Maputaland–Pondoland–Albany Hotspot, and is covered in open grassland, dotted with patches of indigenous forest, swamp forests and flanked by the forested ravines of the Msikaba and Mtentu rivers.[3][4] The Reserve was listed as a protected Ramsar site in 2025.[1]
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2009) |
| Mkhambathi Nature Reserve | |
|---|---|
 Brunia trygyna, a species on the brink of extinction. Only remaining plant (front right) in the Mkhambathi Nature Reserve. | |
 | |
| Location | Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
| Nearest city | |
| Coordinates | 31°18′22″S 29°59′5″E |
| Area | 7,720 hectares (19,100 acres) |
| Established | 2009 |
| Website | Mkambati Nature Reserve - Wild Coast |
| Official name | Mkambati Nature Reserve |
| Designated | 2 February 2025 |
| Reference no. | 2554[1] |
The Pondoland Marine Protected Area, off the coast of the park
Biodiversity
Summarize
Perspective
Amphibians
Amphibians occur in the coastal region of the reserve.
Birds
The reserve has a large colony (400–800 individuals) of Cape vulture (a threatened species).[5]
- African finfoot
- African grass owl
- Black-bellied bustard
- Black-bellied starling
- Black-rumped buttonquail
- Black-winged lapwing
- Broad-tailed warbler
- Brown scrub robin
- Buff-streaked chat
- Cape cormorant
- Cape vulture
- Chorister robin-chat
- Corn crake
- Crowned eagle
- Denham's bustard
- Grey crowned crane
- Grey sunbird
- Gurney's sugarbird
- Half-collared kingfisher
- Knysna woodpecker
- Olive sunbird
- Southern ground hornbill
- Spotted ground thrush
- Striped flufftail
- Swamp nightjar
- White-backed night heron
Mammals
Source:[6]
Reptiles
- Southern brown egg eater
- Variable legless skink
Vegetation
There is an abundance of endemic plants found in the Pondoland landscape of the reserve, including the endemic false water-berry, Rhynchocalyx lawsonioides. The Pondo palm is only found in this region, growing along the banks of the Msikaba and Mtentu rivers. Gurney's sugarbird can be found in protea bushes. Broad-tailed warblers can be found in marshland.
Threats
The endemic plants in the reserve face threats from fire as a consequence of poaching game, and of pervading invasive alien plants like:[5]
Gallery
Brunsvigia grandiflora
Watsonia pillansii
Brunia trygyna. A species on the brink of extinction. The only remaining plant in the Mkhambathi Nature Reserve.
References
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