Drakensberg mountains higher than 2'500m
Drakensberg mountains higher than 2'500m Drakensberg alti-montane grasslands and woodlands ecoregion
WWF AT1003
Map
Also see lower regions of Drakensberg
Drakensberg mountains higher than 2'500 m between Lesotho and Kwazulu-Natal.
- Location
- Elevation
- Area
- Nature Reserves
- Climate
- Geology
- Vegetation
- Mammals
- Birds
- Amphibians
- Reptiles
Location
The high parts (higher than 2'500 m) of the Drakensberg mountains between Lesotho and Kwazulu-Natal. The highest peaks range up to 3'480 m.
In general the mountains have steep and treeless alpine slopes. The adjacent montane community drops by elevations over 2'500 m.
There are thousands of San (i.e. Bushman) paintings dating back as far as 1200 AD.
Elevation
2'500 m to 3'480 m
Area
11'900 square kilometers
Nature Reserves
Nature Reserves found in this ecoregion are:
- Royal Natal National Park
- Sehlabathebe National Park
Climate
- Rainfall: 1'000 mm annually
- Temperature:
- –8º to 32ºC, average: 13ºC
- Even on hot and sunny days, temperatures can fall below 0ºC at night
Geology
- shallow acidic lithosols
- basalt plateaus
Vegetation
- treeless alpine vegetation
- mostly tussock grasses, creeping or mat-forming plants
- ericoid dwarf shrubs
- low night temperatures and winter snowfall results in a more arid vegetation despite the high rainfall
- 1'750 vascular plant species ahve been recorded in this ecoregion -- 394 species are endemic to the southern Drakensberg
- endemism increases as altitude increases
Mammals
Mammals are mostly ungulates (i.e. hoofed):
- klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus)
- mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorufula)
- eland (Taurotragus oryx)
- Maloti/Drakensberg minnow (Oreodaimon zuathlambae), which was until recently thought to be extinct, is found at the Tsoelikana River
Birds
250 species of birds have been recorded
- Endemic
- Mountain pipit (Anthus hoeschi)
- Near-endemic
- bush blackcap (Lioptilus nigricapillus)
- buff-streaked chat (Saxicola bifasciata)
- Rudd’s lark (Heteromirafra ruddi, CR)
- orange-breasted rockjumper (Chaetops aurantius)
- yellow-breasted pipit (Anthus chloris, VU)
- Drakensberg siskin (Serinus symonsi)
- Globally threatened bird species
- The southern bald ibis (Geronticus calvus VU)
- Cape vulture (Gyps coprotheres VU)
- wintering lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni VU)
Amphibians
- Three river frogs are endemic to fast-flowing streams
- Rana dracomontana
- Rana vertebralis
- Rana Stronglopus hymenopus
Reptiles
- The cream-spotted mountain snake (Montaspis gilvomaculata) is the only member of its genus
- Three endemic lizard species are found in the high alpine moors
- Pseudocordylus langi
- Tropidosaura cottrelli
- Tropidosaura essexi
- Tetradactylus breyeri
- Tetradactylus seps
- Pseudocordylus melanotus
- Near-endemic geckos
- Afroedura halli
- Afroedura nivaria