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The Drakensberg Mountain Range, known in the Afrikaner language as "Dragon Mountains," is Lesotho’s highest and most impressive mountain range. The Drakensberg Alti-Montane Grassland and Woodland ecoregion is found on the highest reaches of these steep and rocky slopes, and it is home to a highly diverse and unique assemblage of plants and animals. Many of the plants, such as the spectacular spiral aloe, are endemic. Mountain reedbucks scale the steep mountain slopes, while fish swim in the magnificent rivers and streams. The high rainfall of this ecoregion and its many streams, lakes, and wetlands are an important source of water for the wildlife and people who live there.
This ecoregion spans the steep and treeless alpine slopes of the Drakensberg Mountains, with peaks ranging up to 11,400 feet (3,480 m). These peaks are the source of the Tugela River, which plunges an astounding 6,500 feet (2,000 m) at Tugela Falls, the second highest waterfall in the world after Angel Falls in Venezuela. Within the steep and rocky mountains of this region, there are a variety of habitats with many different types of plants, such as tussock grasses, creeping or mat-forming plants, and dwarf shrubs. These plants are well adapted to the hot sunny days, low nighttime temperatures, and high winter snowfalls that characterize the climate of this ecoregion.
High in the Drakensberg Mountains grows the rare, endemic spiral aloe, a succulent with beautiful leaves that grow in a spiraling pattern. On the grassy slopes at lower altitudes, small, leathery leafed plants like daisies and king proteas harbor many butterflies, including unusual carnivorous species that feed on the eggs and larvae of ants. In the high-altitude, fast-flowing rivers, you can find the endemic Drakensberg frogs and Berg stream frogs. Cream-spotted mountain snakes dwell along the grassy banks. A diversity of birds, including the southern bald ibis and the yellow-breasted pipit, call this region home. Cape vultures soar overhead, scanning the rugged mountain terrain for the sight or sent of carrion. Lesser kestrels spend the winter here. And two species of lark, Rudd's and Botha's, are endemic to the subalpine grasslands. Throughout the ecoregion, a variety of antelopes, from the powerful, ox-like eland to the tiny klipspringer, forage on leaves, roots, twigs, bulbs, and occasionally grasses. Like dancers on tiptoe, the surefooted klipspringers leap easily from rock to rock on the steep slopes. Their rubberlike hooves help them land safely on rock ledges no wider than a teacup.
Because the highest rocky slopes of this region are relatively inaccessible by humans, these habitats are largely intact. The greatest threat the ecoregion faces is from mountain climbers and hikers who inadvertently tread on rare and vulnerable plants. On lower slopes, however, this ecoregion faces many threats. Much of the forest at lower elevations has been cleared for agriculture or timber production, resulting in loss of habitat and severe soil erosion. Today there are too many domestic animals being grazed in areas too small to support them. And invasive, inedible shrubs such as bitterbush and alpine everlasting are displacing native grasses. For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report. All text by World Wildlife Fund © 2001
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