Cape Town's Aliens

Cape Town's Aliens

Paul Theroux hears the comment in his travels down Africa (see Dark Star Safari reviewed in this month's Wildwatch) ... "Cape Town is great. You'd think you were in Europe". No coincidence there as it turns out. Aside from Cape Town's Mediterranean climate and long history of European cultures (predominantly Dutch and British but also French and other nationalities), Cecil John Rhodes, in his position as premier of the Cape Colony and aggressive colonial expansionist during the late 1800s, decided that a kind of ‘acclimatisation' process would need to be followed to make the newly arrived Europeans feel more at home and to make the destination more attractive to prospective colonists.

Yorkshire Pud?

One might initially imagine that this meant encouraging cultural evenings where roast beef and Yorkshire pudding were served while the latest news of English politics was discussed. Instead Rhodes meant the parallel colonisation of flora and fauna indigenous to England and accordingly began to introduce birds like the Starling and Chaffinch and even mammals such as the Grey Squirrel (ironically not even indigenous to England and responsible after introduction there from North America for the catastrophic decline of the native Red Squirrel). All of these were introduced around the end of the 19th century and immediately adapted to stands of European trees such as Oaks and Pines that had been planted by earlier settlers and are ubiquitous in Cape Town and Stellenbosch today even to the point of being synonymous. The Squirrel and the Chaffinch have fortunately been confined to this association and are localised but in the intervening hundred years the [European] Starling has spread along to coast as far as southern KwaZulu-Natal and in many urban centres can now be considered the most abundant bird species.

Breeding like Rabbits

This process was slightly different to that of Van Riebeeck introducing European Rabbits to Robben Island for the purposes of a food supply in the 1650s. Even before their exponential increase however, Van Riebeeck's superiors warned against introducing them onto the mainland - a decision that was to prove particularly providential given the population explosion of the species in Australia and associated impacts on pasture and indigenous fauna. The same island also played host to much later introductions of Chukar Partridge (ex-California) and the Peacock (ex-India) - both still present on the island but apparently not representing a threat to the ecosystem. On the mainland Fallow Deer were also introduced as were Mute Swans, both maintaining negligible or declining populations and in no way creating the same level of debate as the current attempt to remove the Himalayan Tahr from Table Mountain. This mountain goat was an escapee from the old zoo on the slopes of Table Mountain and from the original pair at times has attained a population of around 200. With the recent proclamation of the Cape Peninsula National Park and a South African National Parks dictum that does not tolerate alien biota, many of these Tahrs have been shot in an attempt to remove them. There has been a predictable outcry from animal rights groups but given the inaccessible nature of the mountain terrain and the low likelihood of trying to remove them alive no other solution has been reached.

While the debate on the Tahrs and Table Mountain's alien vegetation still rages, enough Stone Pines - so reminiscent of the Mediterranean coast - remain to induce foreign film companies to film low cost international TV advertisements here. In fact with the influx of visitors the cosmopolitan nature of the city has only increased - perhaps the dream Rhodes had all along.

-Chris Roche-

Posted: Other by CC Africa, Date: 21 November 2006