KZN gets a new nature reserve

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has confirmed the declaration of the iNkonjane Nature Reserve, a 182 hectare protected area adjacent to iMpendle Nature Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

The announcement was made by KZN’s MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Musa Zondi on May 6. It represents strategic expansion of the provincial protected area network, supporting multiple threatened species.

The new reserve provides critical foraging habitat for the critically endangered blue swallow and is home to four of the country’s remaining 30 breeding pairs.

iNkonjane Nature Reserve also supports the critically endangered Pennington’s protea butterfly, a species endemic to the greater Mkhomazi…