The Critically Endangered Wolkberg Zulu Butterfly has been given a game-changing boost in its battle to survive thanks to a conservation first!
South Africa (25 February 2025) — In a first for South African butterflies and a fantastic feat for conservation efforts, the small but resilient Wolkberg Zulu Butterfly (Alaena margaritacea) has finally been granted a glimmer of hope and legal protection after almost a century of facing extinction.
A Critically Endangered species, the Wolkberg Zulu Butterfly is only found in two locations, as the Endangered Wildlife Trust (who helped pushed for its protective boost) explain.
Because these locations are so critical to the remaining populations, people like Dr Dave Edge Dr (who ideated the edge of conservation servitude for the species) knew that legal protective intervention would be a game-changer for the Limpopo butterfly’s chances at survival.
When landowner Mr Gustav van Veijeren came on board to support the effort that would see his land become a place of hope for the few wings left, the ball got rolling in a big way.
Thanks to Mr van Veijeren, the Endangered Wildlife Trust and the Lepidopterists’ Society of Africa amid others, the butterfly has been granted a conservation servitude for its Woodbush Granite Grassland home!
As LSA Custodian for the Wolkberg Zulu Etienne Terblanche said to Daily Maverick:
“Thanks to the servitude regulations provided by the state, which have been gaining traction over the past decade only, it is possible to arrange for the conservation of an organism and/or place privately.”
The portion of Mr van Veijeren’s farm that is now dedication to conservation was a choice the landowner made to the gratitude of many, and one that has made history for the butterflies as well as conservation in South Africa.
Looking forward, there is a refreshing sense of hope within the conservation community centred around future opportunities in which private land might see more protective efforts for species that need it.
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