1UZH Foundation November 12, 2015
The Kalahari Research Centre (KRC) was established in
1993 on ranchland in the southern part of the South Afri-
can Kalahari, close to the border of Botswana. Over the last
twenty years the KRC has grown into a renowned research
-
The KRC was established by Professor Tim Clutton-Brock of the
Uni-versity of Cambridge, UK. He is currently managing the centre
but will retire in July 2017 and therefore is looking for a
successor. Pro-fessor Marta Manser of the University of Zurich
(UZH) has co-di-rected the KRC for the past ten years and is aiming
at continuing operations on behalf of the UZH. The KRC provides
unique possibil-ities to train students and to run field courses.
The activities of the KRC are provided on the ground of the Kuruman
River Reserve (the reserve), which is held by a South African Trust
named the Kalahari Research Trust.
The reserve consists of 33 km2 of deciduous woodland and dune
grassland in the South African Kalahari, close to the border to
Bo-tswana (see map). It supports natural populations of a wide
range of species among mammals, birds and reptiles. It provides
accom-modation and working facilities for up to fifty students and
scien-tists. The remoteness of the area and the absence of
dangerous game make the reserve a safe place with ideal conditions
for field
research. The KRC currently supports long-term research projects
(on meerkats, ground squirrels, bat-eared foxes, pied babblers,
drongos and horn bills) run by the Universities of Cambridge, Duke,
Zurich, Pretoria, Cape Town and the Free State, which have
estab-lished international reputations.The KRC has also played a
significant role in training graduate and undergraduate students in
field research. Over the past twenty
A world leading field research station in the Kalahari desert in
South Africa for the University of Zurich
Kalahari Research
Centremeerkats
research station
leading research
field courses
opportunity
documentary films
farm
land and infrastructure
Kuruman River Reserve
South Africa
education
filming
behavioural biology
science experience social network
communication behaviour
social structure research
new findings
social mammals
spatial orientation
social and genetic structures
ecology
mongoose
since 1993
wilderness
to observe
Groupresearch volunteers
observationradiotracking
research design
zoology
perfect conditions
psyc
holo
gybat-eared foxes
horn
bills
termites
drongos
snakes akazias
semi-desert
birds
2UZH Foundation November 12, 2015
Kalahari Research Centre – Facts in a Nutshell
Location Kuruman River Reserve, 28 km southwest of Vanzylsrus,
Northern Cape, South Africa (26°58'S, 21°49'E)
SizeKuruman River Reserve 3300 ha (33 km2); for research the KRC
has access to neighboring farms ranging over approx. 5’000 ha.
Directed byProf. Tim Clutton-Brock, University of Cambridge
(director since 1993) and Prof. Marta Manser, University of Zurich
(co-director since 2002).
Required FundsTo secure the reserve’s future availability for
the KRC after the exit of Cambridge, it will be necessary to either
change owner-ship of the reserve or to transfer the Trusteeship
from Cam-bridge to UZH. The recent valuation shows the following
results:
Valuation July 2015
Kuruman River Reserve (3300 ha) CHF 740'000 Facilities CHF
160'000Total CHF 900'000
Current research activities at the KRC are partially financed by
research grants. However, about CHF 125’000.– of the current
running costs will not be covered anymore after the departure of
Prof. Clutton-Brock. This requires successful applications of new
grants and / or the support of donators.
The future
The UZH wishes to retain the KRC as a research centre to provide
a base for field research and training for its students from July
2017 onwards, when Professor Clutton-Brock retires. The reserve
pro-vides access to established long-term studies that are likely
to at-tract research funding for many years to come. Contributions
are coming from principal researchers running research at the KRC,
from the use of accommodation by visiting scientists and
occa-sionally from film teams. The UZH is currently exploring to
transfer the lead within the KRC from Prof. Tim Clutton-Brock
(Cambridge) to Prof. Marta Manser (UZH). The UZH is looking for a
potential in-vestor or donator to secure the continuance of this
important cen-tre as well as the long-term availability of the
reserve and its farm-steads.
years more than 250 individuals from across the globe have come
to spend one-year internships at the research station. In addition
30 MSc students, 18 PhD students and more than 10 post-docs have
carried out field research. Many of them subsequently gained
academic positions. The KRC has been used by the UZH for various
field courses and has provided undergraduate students and gram-mar
school teachers the opportunity to gain experience in
field-work.
Research projects of the KRC on the reserve are covered by
research grants won by the principal researchers who also
contribute to the running costs of the centre. Since various of the
animal popula-tions at the KRC have become closely habituated to
observers the reserve is regularly used by film teams: for example,
the well-known animal docudrama «Meerkat Manor» (which included
four 13-part series and attracted a world-wide audience) was filmed
there on animals habituated in the course of the research on
meer-kats. Charges paid contribute to the running costs of the
reserve and the centre.
«The KRC provides unique opportunities
on the Kuruman River Reserve for field
research: : It is an ideal location for
training students in behaviour, ecology,
conservation and evolutionary
biology.»Prof. Dr. Marta Manser, co-
director KRC
Contact and Information
UZH FoundationCulmannstr. 1CH-8006
Zurichwww.uzhfoundation.ch
