With our bias on wildlife animals (and often less so on the abundant flora of the Reserve), shareholder Conny wants to make a point by making showing some photos of the beautiful Baobabs that we are fortunate enough to have on our Reserve. We haven’t really counted them, but we probably have at least 200 of them, of different ages and sizes. Some are favourites of the baboons for their fruits, others are left alone with their fruits dropping on the ground for animals or even for us to pick up.
An old Baobab tree can create its own ecosystem, as it supports the life of countless creatures, from the largest of mammals to the thousands of tiny creatures scurrying in and out of its crevices. Birds nest in its branches; baboons devour the fruit; bush babies and fruit bats drink the nectar and pollinate the flowers, and elephants have been known to chop down and consume a whole tree.
Did you know that Baobab trees can grow to enormous sizes and carbon dating indicates that they may live to be 3,000 years old? If they could talk, just imagine the stories those old trees could tell… One ancient hollow Baobab tree (in Zimbabwe) is so large that up to 40 people can shelter inside its trunk. Various Baobabs have been used as a shop, a prison, a house, a storage barn, and a bus shelter. And also, if you go outside the Reserve to the nearest village, Tsetsebjwe, you will find a good number of those giant ‘upside-down’ trees there.
If you would like to be a part of our conservation efforts, do call on us. For discreet information on share sales, contact sylvia@partofafrica.com. To book a safari, request our rates via WhatsApp: (+267) 75995115, or via the reserve’s office: (+267) 2630198/9.
Photos: John Faure