During August this year, the Wildlife Unit of the Cape of Good Hope SPCA picked up the injured Cape grysbok from a residential area in Table View. A member of the public had picked him up in Table View. He appeared weak and dazed and was dropped off at a veterinarian in Table View. The SPCA then fetched the young male bokkie from the vet. It is suspected that the animal was hit by a car. 

He was monitored at the SPCA to see if he had neurological damage/concussion as he seemed disorientated when he was picked up by the passer-by. The bokkie did not run away as the passer-by approached. This raised alarm bells as these animals will usually flee at the first sight of a human. 

With the help of the SPCA, the grysbokkie fully recovered after about two weeks and was released by the City’s Table Bay Nature Reserve staff.

Last year, a caracal and Cape grysbok were killed on the road between Bloubergstrand and Melkbosstrand, near the Blaauwberg Nature Reserve. Other animals that have also been killed include tortoises, Cape cobras, mole snakes, small-spotted genets and porcupines. 

In June this year, two Cape clawless otters were killed on the same night on Marine Drive in Milnerton. 

‘We cannot plead with motorists enough to reduce their speed and to be cautious when driving in areas near nature reserves. By slowing down, they will ensure their own safety, the safety of other road users, and the protection of our wildlife – such as the Cape grysbok, caracal, mongoose and Cape clawless otter, which wander across the roads. 

‘Many of the animals are nocturnal, so it makes it difficult for motorists to see them at night when they unexpectedly cross the roads searching for food. In most cases, animals are hesitant to cross roads because it is a foreign environment for them, so they will often do so suddenly and unexpectedly.

‘Motorists are urged to share in the responsibility of protecting our animals and biodiversity by reducing their speed and adhering to the speed restrictions on our roads,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Environmental and Spatial Planning, Councillor Johan van der Merwe. 

For more information about the City’s nature reserves, residents should please visit www.capetown.gov.za/naturereserves.

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Note to editors: high-resolution photos are available on request to media.account@capetown.gov.za