MalaMala is world-renowned for offering the finest and most consistent Big Five game viewing in the world.
This is not only because of the location (although this is key), or that the animals are undisturbed for most of the day (game vehicle access only), but also because the land has been incredibly well managed for many years.
MalaMala has a range of Environmental Management Policies minimising and mitigating the impact on the environment and is actively growing its monitoring and research programs.
They are also growing their capacity to deal with negative influences such as Alien Plants and Poaching.
MalaMala has several invasive plant species that encroach on the reserve and have an annual control program for the containment of these alien species. One specific challenge, brought about by climate change, has been the encroachment of ‘woody plants’, creating dense woody thickets on what used to be semi-open savannah. This could potentially change the wildlife composition in these areas and, as a result, MalaMala has embarked on a bush thinning program to protect these savannah areas.
They also have an annual burning program which serves to protect the property through an extensive network of firebreaks, but it also plays a critical role in savannah management and the rejuvenation of the bush.
In a concerted effort to reduce the human footprint on MalaMala, the bed and vehicle densities have been kept to an absolute minimum. At 1 bed per 500 acres (200 hectares) and 1 vehicle per 2 350 acres (950 hectares), these densities are amongst the lowest of any private game reserve in the country, consistent with the principle that the environment is the essence of MalaMala.
Numerous research projects are carried out on an annual basis, mostly designed to monitor the impact of our environmental management practices on the habitat. They have studied the effects of the ever-growing elephant population on the property and tracked the progress of threatened species such as the Southern Ground Hornbill. MalaMala has a detailed Vegetation Monitoring Program and also work closely with independent conservation groups such as Panthera who assist in monitoring the leopard population.
Many of these projects are the unglamorous and behind-the-scenes tasks that are critical to the wellbeing and sustainability of the property.
Preserving and protecting the environmental integrity of this special piece of Africa has always been at the core of MalaMala’s existence. This philosophy has paid off and international photojournalists and film-makers have made MalaMala their wildlife destination of choice.