CapeNature ranger Hilton Bocks bends down to point out a tiny succulent, one of many spread over the stony plains of the Knersvlakte Nature Reserve on the West Coast. The pebbles crunch under our shoes as we walk around. “This one is endemic,” says Bocks. “It’s young. I’m guessing five to six years. They take very long to grow in this area.” The plant, which GroundUp agreed not to name, has been listed as rare.
Captain Karel du Toit of the Springbok Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit says poachers used to come from Asia to South Africa to poach the plants themselves, and some were arrested. But since lockdown started, they couldn’t come anymore and began roping in locals to do the poaching.
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