biodiversity
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the continuous developmentandimprovementofNondoPrivateGame
Reserve, a 638ha safe havenfora fullspectrumofsmallermammals,
birds, predators and athrivingfree-rangingtsessebepopulation
situated in the westernbushveldoftheLimpopoProvince.
In 1945 NormanAtherstone
fenced in fourkuduina 200ha
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possibly theverybeginningsof
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the Transvaalofthetime!John MackieTHE ATHERSTONE NATURE RESERVE
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n 1917 Arthur Atherstone purchased the farm
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He lost most of his livestock in what proved to be a
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ranching operation.
His son, Norman, born in 1924, followed in his father’s
footsteps and continued ranching with cattle while clearly
at the same time developing a deep love for the natural
history of the area. In 1945 Norman fenced in four kudu
(a bull and three cows) in a 200ha enclosure on the
farm Rust, quite possibly the very beginnings of the first
private game ranch in the Transvaal of the time! This kudu
population had increased to 22 in 1952, the year in which
Norman purchased the farm Schaapvley 59 KP. Here he
fenced off a 500ha enclosure and used horses to move both
the above kudu together with some eland and
impala from Rust to Schaapvley. >>