Rhinos return to Mapungubwe
Dirk Nel
23 July 2004
Mapungubwe, a World Heritage Site in Limpopo province, is closely associated with the famous gold foil rhinoceros that was excavated from the 13th century Iron Age site. Now, seven centuries later, Mapungubwe National Park is home to real rhinos once more.
Four white rhinos were translocated from Kruger National Park to the recently proclaimed Mapungubwe National Park this week.
Experts believe the new park is perfect for increasing populations of threatened animal species, including the black and white rhinoceros, wild dog and African elephant.
According to researchers, archaeological finds at the site show that rhinos roamed the region over two thousand years ago.
The Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape, declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) last year, boasts a substantial amount of San rock art dating back over 15 000 years, as well as major archaeological findings of gold artefacts, beads, burial grounds and other remains.
The findings indicate that Mapungubwe was a major centre of culture with a well-developed smelter and trading industry, and bears testimony to the way of life of African people more than a thousand years ago.
One of the most striking items unearthed during extensive excavations by the University of Pretoria is a gold rhino artefact, which entrenched the area's many legends about the rhino.
Previously known as the Vhembe Dongola National Park, Mapungubwe National Park covers over 28 000 hectares near Musina, north of Polokwane, along the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers.
The Park also forms 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.
Source: BuaNews
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