Table Bay Nature Reserve

Table Bay Nature Reserve

Location of Table Bay Reserve
Location	Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Coordinates	33°50′45″S 18°30′01″E / 33.84579°S 18.50039°E / -33.84579; 18.50039Coordinates: 33°50′45″S 18°30′01″E / 33.84579°S 18.50039°E / -33.84579; 18.50039
Area	880 hectares (8.8 km²)
Governing body	City of Cape Town
http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/environmentalresourcemanagement/Pages/default.aspx

The Table Bay Nature Reserve is an 880-hectare (2,200-acre) nature reserve in Milnerton, Cape Town, South Africa. It consists of several smaller constituent reserves including Rietvlei Wetland Reserve, Diep River Fynbos Corridor, Zoarvlei Wetlands, Milnerton Racecourse Nature Reserve, and Milnerton Lagoon, as well as surrounding protected areas. These adjacent reserves were amalgamated on 27 June 2012, in order to improve the biodiversity management in the built-up area. It is managed by the City of Cape Town's Environmental Resource Management Department, with offices at Rietvlei.^[1]

The Table Bay Nature Reserve forms the southernmost buffer area of the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve, and links it to the edge of Cape Town's city centre. It also contains a large portion of the critically endangered lowland habitats remaining in Cape Town.

The central feature in the Table Bay Nature Reserve is the Rietvlei wetland system. The Rietvlei Wetlands and Milnerton Lagoon were proclaimed as a Nature Area on 3 August 1984, in proclamation number 1632 of Provincial Gazette No. 9345. The Nature Reserve is partly owned by the City of Cape Town and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature – South Africa, who own two of the Erven. The City of Cape Town manages these two Erven on a 99-year lease for the purposes of nature conservation.^[1]

Biodiversity

Fauna and flora in the reserve include the following:^[2]

Mammals

Indigenous

Bathyergidae

Bathyergus suillus (Cape dune mole-rat)
Cryptomys hottentotus (common mole-rat)
Georychus capensis (Cape mole-rat)

Bovidae

Raphicerus campestris (steenbok)
Raphicerus melanotis (Cape grysbok)
Sylvicapra grimmia (common duiker)

Canidae

Vulpes chama (Cape fox)

Chrysochloridae

Cryptochloris asiatica a.k.a. Chrysochloris asiatica (Cape golden mole)

Felidae

Felis caracal (caracal)

Herpestidae

Atilax paludinosus (water mongoose)
Cynictis penicillata (yellow mongoose)
Galerella pulverulenta (Cape gray mongoose)
Herpestes ichneumon (Egyptian mongoose)

Hystricidae

Hystrix africaeaustralis (Cape porcupine)

Leporidae

Lepus capensis (Cape hare)
Lepus saxatilis (scrub hare)

Muridae

Dendromus melanotis (gray climbing mouse)
Mus musculus (house mouse)
Otomys irroratus (vlei rat)
Otomys unisulcatus (bush vlei rat)
Rattus rattus (black rat)
Rhabdomys pumilio (striped field mouse)
Tatera afra (Cape gerbil)
Mus indutus (desert pygmy mouse)

Mustelidae;

Aonyx capensis (Cape clawless otter)
Mellivora capensis (honey badger)

Soricidae

Myosorex varius (forest shrew)

Vespertilionidae

Eptesicus capensis (Cape serotine bat)

Viverridae

Genetta genetta (small-spotted genet)
Genetta tigrina (Cape genet)

Introduced

Canidae

Canis lupus familiaris a.k.a. Canis familiaris (domestic dog)

Felidae

Felis silvestris catus a.k.a. Felis catus (domestic cat)

Reptiles

Chamaeleonidae

Bradypodion pumilum (Cape dwarf chameleon)
Bradypodion occidentale (Namaqua dwarf chameleon)

Colubridae

Psammophylax rhombeatus (rhombic skaapsteker)
Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia (herald snake)
Dasypeltis scabra (common eggeater)
Dispholidus typus (boomslang)
Duberria lutrix lutrix (common slugeater)
Lamprophis aurora (Aurora house snake)
Lamprophis fuscus (yellow-bellied house snake)
Lamprophis inornatus (olive house snake)
Lycodonomorphus rufulus (common brown water snake)
Psammophis crucifer (cross-marked grass snake), (crossmarked grass snake)
Psammophis leightoni (Cape sand snake)
Psammophis notostictus (Karoo sand snake)
Pseudaspis cana (mole snake)
Chamaesaura anguina (Cape grass lizard)

Elapidae

Homoroselaps lacteus (spotted harlequin snake)
Naja nivea (Cape cobra)

Gekkonidae

Afrogecko porphyreus (marbled leaf-toed gecko), (marbled leaftoed gecko)
Pachydactylus geitje (ocellated thick-toed gecko), (ocellated thicktoed gecko)