Wildlife management on a Game Ranch and Game reserve

Managing a wildlife on a game ranch or game reserve is not always as simple as one might think. Managing the wildlife on a game ranch on game reserve entails managing an semi closed eco-system on a profitable yet sustainable fashion.This is not always a easy task and there area many different aspects to keep in mind although the principles is simple.
The secret is easy keep as many animals as possible in the game ranch or game reserve without overgrazing the veld, keeping in mind the needs and behaviour the wildlife. Having so many as 30 - 50 differant antelope species on a game ranch that each have there own requirement and competing for there own resource the management task is not always easy.

Managing a wild ungulate population successfully is not very difficult in the wet season when food and water is abundant. It’s simple you keep the fence in a good condition so the wild ungulates / antelope can’t escape and to prevent poachers accessing your farm too easily. And the antelope numbers become more and more every time you go into the veld, how wonderful.

Then suddenly, the eland start dying, the red hartebeest bulls chase each other through the fences and now they're gone.
When you wake up the next morning and you are in the middle of the dry season nearing the end and it seems like you don’t have any grass left in your veld, your wildlife looks like hungry skeletons.
Your trees are eaten bare to the point where even the branches are receding back into the tree.
The worst of it all - your neighbour’s game ranch still has a grass layer , his trees have foliage and his animals are not dying of malnutrition or bloating.

Well what did the neighbour do seeing that his game ranch is even smaller than yours?
He calculated his game farm's carrying capacity so he could know how many animals he could easily keep on his game ranch. He also sold a few animals to hunters and game captures to lower the grazing pressure on the veld as he had too many animals.

His eland survived the tick infestations because he had a dip system in place; his red hartebeest did not chase each other through the fence and ran themselves to death because his animals' sex ratios had been correctly calculated. Therefore there was not too many bulls in relation to the cows in the area, because he knew they were strong territorial animals. He also made sure his camps were large enough to hold the animals.

He did not have animals dying of bloating because he fed the animals a mixture of lusern and chop from the start of the dry season. This decreased the pressure on his veld and in the end this saved him money. He mixed the lusern because he knew that when lusern is consumed in enough quantities on its own, it will cause bloating that can result in death or unnecessary veterinary costs.

So why do you need to manage your antelope / ungulate population?

Managing your wildlife population on your game ranch is important to ensure the sustainability of your game ranch and it's resources.
Keeping the ecological principles of nature in mind when making management decisions, you will probably increase your wildlife production. Your veld / habitat will also be in a better condition and produce more food that will enable your wildlife populations to breed more successfully .

The increased production will have a larger yield resulting in your wildlife being in better condition and you will have better income possibilities (better eco-tourism opportunities, Live sales, hunting etc.).