GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The Wilderness Ratepayers and Residents Association invites the public to join Dr Zanri Strydom on Wednesday 18 October as she shares her research findings from the last twelve months, on gannets in the greater Wilderness waters.

Strydom specialises in seabirds, and has conducted her doctoral degree specifically on the competition for food between humans and gannets in South Africa. 

Together with her husband Tiaan, Strydom is the reserve manager at Dunefields Private Nature Reserve situated on Paradise Ridge outside Wilderness.

The Garden Route is an extremely important area that provides year-round feeding for both juvenile and adult Cape gannets. 

"These are offshore seabirds, which means, unlike shorebirds, we don't get to observe them on the beach. However, just behind the waves is where we find rafts of gannets along Paradise Ridge, east of Wilderness Beach," said Strydom.

Besides the involvement in seabird documentaries and research, Strydom is a first responder for sick and injured seabirds found along this coast.

"I have always valued my time spent rescuing and stabilising seabirds in need, and in return I got the greatest gift - an ever-growing passion," she said.

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