Designated 21 January 1997
The Ramsar site bears the Afrikaans name for hippopotamus, the last of which was shot in the area in 1894, and consists of a floodplain ecosystem containing numerous small seasonally-flooded oxbow lakes. The wetland stretches northwards for approximately 20 km, of which about two thirds is protected in the Seekoeivlei Nature Reserve.
Seekoeivlei is of particular importance because it is one of the largest wetlands on the South African highveld. The wetland is valued for its ability to regulate streamflow and enhance water quality. The Klip River, which drains the system, is a tributary of the Vaal River, upon which the highly industrialized and densely populated Gauteng Province depends for its water supply.
The wetland supports a large number of resident and migratory waterbirds. It is a breeding site for the whiskered tern Chlidonias hybridus, crowned and blue cranes Balearica regulorum and Anthropoides paradisea and the endangered wattled crane Bugeranus carunculatus. Rare species such as little bittern Ixobrychus minutus, yellowbilled stork Mycteria ibis and white-winged flufftail Sarothrura ayresii also occur in the area. A number of rare animal species which are partly or totally dependent on the wetland also occur here such, as serval Felis serval, hedgehog Atelerix frontalis and striped weasel Poecilogale albinucha.
The wetland has recently been the focus of a large-scale rehabilitation project which aimed to restore the hydrological functioning of part of the system which had been drained in previous decades for agriculture. A full-time education officer is also present at the reserve, and reintroduction of hippopotamus and wattled crane is underway.
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| If you have any comments on this page, or need more information, please contact John Dini at nat_jd@ozone.pwv.gov.za. |
| This page is maintained by the South African Wetlands Conservation Programme and was last updated on 12 January 1999. |