Fauna
See also: Table Mountain#FaunaNear Rhodes Memorial, some of the lower slopes of Devil's Peak are artificially maintained as savanna, and some herds of eland, wildebeest and zebra are kept there.
In the 1930s, a few Himalayan Tahrs escaped from a zoo on the slopes of Devil's Peak and bred until their population on the Table Mountain range was over 700. A culling programme has eliminated most of them, although a few still remain. Some of the original local species of small antelope are being re-introduced to replace the tahrs. Around Rhodes Memorial there were also some feral deer of European origin, which can still be found on the lower slopes.
Indigenous animals include porcupines, caracals, small grey mongoose, rock hyraxes (also known as dassies), and of course a many bird species.
Read more about this topic: Devil's Peak (Cape Town)
Famous quotes containing the word fauna:
“The whole fauna of human fantasies, their marine vegetation, drifts and luxuriates in the dimly lit zones of human activity, as though plaiting thick tresses of darkness. Here, too, appear the lighthouses of the mind, with their outward resemblance to less pure symbols. The gateway to mystery swings open at the touch of human weakness and we have entered the realms of darkness. One false step, one slurred syllable together reveal a man’s thoughts.”
—Louis Aragon (1897–1982)