Projects

In 1997, the process of restoring balance and ecology to what once were agricultural lands started,  by reintroducing buffalo, sable and roan antelope on the reserve in breeding projects.   At a later stage other endemic species were reintroduced on the reserve such as rhino, giraffe, zebra, kudu and many other species.

In early 2007, Markus Jebsens’ years of passion for Africa and Conservation led him to invest into Zingela Nature Reserve. The immense project began by converting the land into a Nature Reserve, and returning animals like Rhino, Buffalo, Sable and Roan Antelope to roam freely in their natural habitat.

Since 2007, an increase of over 9,000% in rhino poaching across Southern Africa, has greatly influenced the conservation of rhino. Zingela suffered a great loss of rhino to the poaching epidemic and thus, after multitudes of anti-poaching efforts, a decision was made to preserve the last remaining rhinos by transferring them to a wildlife sanctuary in Botswana.

In 2014, Zingela began a leopard monitoring project that is conducted on a yearly basis. The project involves gathering data from over 40 camera traps that have been placed on Zingela’s 27,000 hectares, near water-holes and areas with high wildlife activity. The project allows us to monitor our leopard population’s growth and identify established territories.

Camera traps have also aided us with identifying numerous other predators such as civet, caracal, serval, brown hyenas, cheetahs and African wild cat that roam freely on the reserve.

Over the years, free ranging Cheetahs have been monitored with camera traps on Zingela Nature Reserve. There are approximately 1,300 cheetahs in South Africa, of which approximately 500 are free ranging over farmlands in the northern part of South Africa.

Due to agricultural practices in the surrounding areas, cheetahs have lost the majority of their habitat and are no longer able to roam freely and hunt undisturbed. Zingela has provided a few of these cheetahs with the opportunity of sustainably growing their population. We often find their tracks and have been able to capture images of the cheetahs on our camera traps.

In order to fully establish behavioural patterns of the cheetahs freely roaming on the reserve as well as to aid in the conservation of this majestic predator, a decision was made to begin planning the cheetah collaring project. Donations towards this project will be greatly appreciated as the funds that are needed to start the project are immense.

Zingela is dedicated to establishing a world-class sanctuary for rare and endangered species of South Africa. The long term goal is to re-introduce elephants and lions, as well as relocating wild dogs to the reserve. Zingela is committed to the conservation of species endemic to the Limpopo Valley and will be expanding the reserve to form a corridor to the Limpopo River in the north.

Conservation is a huge part of Zingela and we encourage the public to partake in our conservation efforts by donating towards our various projects. Regular updates of progress on our conservation projects will be posted on social media platforms to ensure that donors are involved, every step of the way.