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News - Date: 30 July 2004
MUSINA – A unique chapter in the region’s natural and cultural history was written this week when four white rhinos were reintroduced into the Mapungubwe National Park.
The rhinos were translocated from the Kruger National Park to Mapungubwe. The Mapungubwe National Park is said to have the potential to be a sanctuary for viable popula-tions of threatened animals, including black and white rhinoceroses, wild dogs and African elephants.
The CEO of the South African National Parks, Mr David Mabunda, said the national park was likely to become a regional economic hub on the sub-continent, because of its tourism potential.
Researchers have confirmed that recent archaeological discoveries at this World Heritage Site showed that rhinos roamed the region 2000 years ago.
The natural site that the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) declared a World Heritage Site last year, boasts a substantial amount of San rock art, dated 15 000 year ago.
One of the most striking items unearthed during extensive excavations by the University of Pretoria was a golden rhino artefact, which firmly entrenched the area’s many rhino legends of the past. Other finds indicated that a well-developed smelting and trading industry existed in this area during that period.
Various dignitaries, as well as senior officials of South African National Parks (SANParks) and the Limpopo Tourism and Parks Board (LTPB) attended a formal ceremony in the park this week to mark the historic event.
According to SANParks, the arrival of the animals is the first step in a process to introduce a number of rare or endangered species into the park. This would considerably enhance Mapungubwe’s status as a national asset.
Previously known as the Vhembe Dongola National Park, Mapungubwe is situated at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers. It also comprises the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape in an area covering over 28 000 hectares.
The finding of golden artefacts, beads, burial grounds and other remains indicated that the new park was one of the major centres of culture, and it bore testimony to the way of life of African people more than 1000 years ago.
The park also formed part of an ambitious project to develop a major transfrontier conservation area, the Limpopo/Shashe Transfrontier Park that will include Botswana’s Tuli Block and Zimbabwe’s Tuli Safari area and South Africa.
Accommodation and other tourist facilities in the park are nearing completion. Mr Mabunda also announced that the Mapungubwe National Park near Musina will be officially opened to the public on September 24 on National Heritage Day. Special guests for the occasion will include Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Limpopo Premier Sello Moloto, as well as dignitaries from Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
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The economic conditions in Zimbabwe forced Tanaka Moyo (40) to legally seek greener pastures in Musina. He opted for a unique business plan, selling the wild jujube fruit to make a living. The fruit, called masau in Shona, is better known as mazwilu in Tshivenda.
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