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Profile: Watatunga Wildlife Reserve
Unique wildlife reserve comes to Norfolk
Farmer and conservationist Ed Pope has created a stunning wildlife reserve in west Norfolk.
ANorfolk farmer is pioneering a new approach to protecting the planet’s last populations of endangered deer, antelope and birds from across the globe – by recreating a wildlife reserve in Norfolk.
Ed Pope, of Watlington Farms, designated almost 70ha (170 acres) of unused wetland near King’s Lynn as a reserve dedicated to the conservation of threatened wild animals and birds – including the great bustard.
“We’re striving to inspire a new generation with the challenges of conservation in the 21st century by showcasing the majesty of these creatures while telling the story of their struggle to survive,” he says.
“There are lots of forgotten species out there – both in the UK and internationally. Everybody talks about what you might call the sexy species – but ecosystems rely on the not so sexy species too and that’s what we’re looking after.”
Called Watatunga Wildlife Reserve, the Norfolk reserve is working with conservationists from zoos and safari parks across the world to foster and breed rare species and give them a stepping stone towards survival.
A regular visitor to Africa since he was about six years old, Mr Pope credits bird-watching with his father for encouraging what has become a lifelong dedicated passion Continued overleaf
Continued from previous page for wildlife conservation.
The entire site is surrounded by a high fence dug deep into the ground with 12 strands of electric wire connected to mobile apps, wifi and GSM so nothing can get out – and no ground predators can get in. “It means we can really concentrate on some wonderful ground nesting birds”, he explains.
“This is not rewilding – or shutting the gate on a piece of land and allowing it to revert to nature and seeing what happens. This is very much managed. We manage the animals, thehabitat and we particularly manage the vermin.”
The feedback has been absolutely staggering
Management is key, says Mr Pope, because a balance of species is important – especially when it comes to ground-nesting birds which can find survival difficult because they may lay only a small clutch of eggs.
“If we have a brown rat that is predating on things that are finding it difficult to nest in the first place, then actually all we’ll end up with are predators and vermin. So you could never just shut the gate and hope for the best.”
Four-legged species include a number of Roan antelope, which are due to be returned to East Africa; and the Eastern mountain Bongo antelope, whose offspring will hopefully make their way to the foothills of Mount Kenya.
Social structure
“They live in a social structure and it is really important that we recreate that environment – encouraging them to find their own food, browsing and having a varied diet. It means they develop properly – just as they would in the wild.
“Adult animals teach the young where to go when the weather’s harsh, where to go at certain times of year to feed on the best forage – and its very exciting to see this development in the young born at Watatunga.”
The wildlife reserve is a small area of the main farm. Previously arable land, it supported crops such as onions and potatoes before being turned over for gravel extraction – after which it was landscaped.
“We’re on some varied land, a real mixture. We have heavy clay, black peat and some, silt and sand – and everything in between. So we have Continued on p33
Continued from p30 created the reserve on a small area or poorer land, but still produce good food for the human population.”
The roots of the project can be traced back 12 years when Mr Pope took on a small herd of water buffalo to manage some stewardship land. They were ideal at rejuvenating areas of stagnant water and grassland inaccessible to a tractor and topper or conventional livestock.
“They were able to get into the water and stir it up. The results were phenomenal – turning stagnant water into lakes teaming with pond life and transforming stagnant and poor grassland into areas full of birdlife and returning wildflowers.”
Privileged
From there, Mr Pope pursued his interest in African antelope. He says he remains a farmer and a conservationist at heart – and is privileged to be able to pursue his twin areas of interest – whether it is growing a crop of wheat or encouraging wildlife.
“I could see that there were lots of animals prevented from breeding, not heading back to their native countries and zoos and safari parks were simply running out of space. And I realised that there was something we could do for these species.”
The Watatunga Wildlife Reserve opened to the public in August last year. Visitors are able to travel around the reserve in self drive electric buggies which are GPS monitored and tracked so they keep to the right areas.
“The feedback has been absolutely staggering,” says Mr Pope. “I never knew whether it was just my passion – or whether other people would love it too. And when they saw it, they were amazed too.”
The reaction has been heartwarming, he adds. “We’ve had various school trips and the children have been enthralled. Teachers have been amazed because children with a 45-minute attention span have wanted to stay for hours.
“One minute you might have a bongo coming out of the wood onto the track in front of you and the next minute you’ll have buffalo swimming like hippos in the lake, and great bustard displaying with the sound of turtle doves, you just don’t know. ßI think that’s what makes it so magical.”
SPECIES INCLUDE
Chinese Water Deer Eastern / Mountain Bongo Roan Antelope Blackbuck Blesbok Indian Sambar Deer Malayan Sambar Deer Mouflon ScimiatScimitar Horned OryxSitatunga Kafue Flats Lechwe Barasingha Deer Hog Deer White Lipped Deer Water Buffalo Great Bustard Eurasian Cranes White Naped Crane White Storks Temminck’s Tragopan Himalayan Monal Javan Peafowl Cheer Pheasant Crested Fireback
www.watatunga.co.uk
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