The Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, previously known as the Witwatersrand National Botanical Garden, is a 300 hectares (3.0 km2) botanical reserve in western Roodepoort, near Johannesburg, South Africa.
History
The garden was formally established in 1982 as the Transvaal National Botanic Gardens, at which time it was the 14th of South Africa’s National Botanical Gardens.
It was opened to the public in 1987 as the Witwatersrand National Botanical Gardens,[1] on the occasion of the handing over of some 120 ha of farm Roodekrans by the Krugersdorp Town Council for inclusion in the reserve.
The Roodekrans, marked by alternating layers of quartz and shale, forms a backdrop to the gardens, beyond which natural bankenveld vegetation is conserved.
Eagle breeding site
The first record of Verreaux’s eagles at the site dates to the 1940s, though in all likelihood, they were present for many years prior. As of 2023 the garden is home to a young eagle pair, Makatsa and Mahlori, which has bred here since 2020 on a new nest.
Their nest is located about 100 metres from the older nest sites, in the vicinity of the waterfall over the Roodekrans ridge. Female Makatsa has been present since 2016 when female Emonyeni (some 45 years old) disappeared, and male Mahlori since 2019, when male Thulani disappeared.
Though one of the youngest of South Africa’s National Botanical Gardens, the site has been popular with visitors for many decades before its proclamation. The garden has a restaurant, gift shop and bird hide overlooking a small dam. Up to March 2015 it operated a nursery which cultivated native South African plants. The Garden has been recognised as one of the most beautiful botanical gardens in the world.
In June 2023 Makatsa and Mahlori started raising their fourth chick in four years, and being a young pair, are expected to continue breeding for another three decades or so
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