How common are Reedbuck

[Drakensberger]

In and around the KZN midlands, I see them every day. These are not on game farms, so the chances of seeing the same animal over and over is not too great. What is their conservation status? Very nice to see so much wild life that I am not too familiar with.

[Proudprado]

There's FA left in Auckland Park.

[TStone]

If you see it in the same area every time it is very likely the same animal/s, they are very territorial.

[Messor]

Reedbuck are not common because common people killed them all.

[Trayton]

New Hanover, plenty on my side of the world. one particular bus that we saw fairly often in the same place was a perfect specimen, but he has since disappeared.I red an article a while back in magnum that stated 50% of 3year old males are killed during the rut.

Not sure how true it is.

Them being a TOPS animal is stupid in my mind, because again, it is the law abiding citizens that keep the law, poachers with their dogs care little for TOPS animals and the law. ending up with us law abiding folks not taking any animals but instead the animals all go to the poachers and their dogs.

[Willie Barnard]

The common reedbuck (Redunca arundinum) as opposed to its cousin the mountain reedbuck (R fulvorufolum) is/was very susceptible to subsistence hunting. This I suspect is because of it being very territorial, and being territorial in places favoured for human settlement - vleis and riverbanks.

This has led to the common reedbuck being exterminated in many areas during the era of overexploitation of game. When this was replaced by the era of conservation (when game was given value, also known as sustainable utilization), many areas of former reedbuck habitat did not have a population to make a comeback.
However, where remnant populations existed, they did make a comeback.

I understand that reedbuck is THE success story of the concept of conservatories, that was started in Natal. (Where a group of land owners would collectively conserve and utilize natural resources across farm boundaries.)
I have seen, and heard reports of reedbuck appearing on farms (Limpopo province) where they have not been seen for at least 5 decades.

I fully agree with a previous poster, that putting Common reedbuck on the TOPS list, (as is the case with many other species), is more of a hindrance than a help in the sustainable utilization (and hence the conservation) of the species.

Willie barnard