From page 17
stocking rates to optimize
financial returns.
Important parameters which
affect the carrying capacities
of game are a) Minimum
hectare per Animal Unit
(ha/animal) of optimal habitat
needed to fulfil the varied
requirements of dietary
fodder needed year round; b)
Minimum Habitat Area (ha)
per animal or associated
animal groups (family) needed
to fulfil the social and spatial
needs of the species; and c)
Browser Equivalent Unit for
browser animals, where one
browser unit equals a 140 kg
kudu , feeding on 1500
edible, acceptable trees/-
shrubs with a canopy
height of between
0,6 to 2,0 m and
which retain more
than 35% of their
foliage year round
(Furstenburg).
The number of
animals to be kept
on any land unit is
determined by the
habitat-area size,
provided that it is
suitable for the
species; the carrying
capacity of the unit;
the social and spatial
needs of the animals;
and, the animal-
species composition,
ie, interaction and
Some species require indigenous trees of a certain height as part of their diet.
size of the breeding camps
should be 50 ha and should
not be smaller than 10 ha.
The game industry, in contrast
to pure conservation, works
on the agriculturally defined
Large Stock Unit (LSU) as a
benchmark to determine
carrying capacities and game
19
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GAME
composition. So a farm of a
certain size may be able to
carry 600 cattle, yet only 333
kudu.
The Gauteng guidelines state,
“It is essential to recognize
that the role of game ranches
is not merely as sites where
game is bred, but also as a
contribution to the conserva-
tion of biodiversity in the
broader context.”
Few smallholdings are big
enough to conserve bio-
diversity while carrying game.