Kruger’s GIANT pachycaul
Nick Zambatis is the former Manager: Biodiversity Conservation in Conservation Management: Kruger National Park. He retired in 2016. His first job in Kruger was as a research technician based at Skukuza, which he started in 1987. “The transfer from Pretoria to the Lowveld was ecstasy and the Kruger appointment was a dream come true,” he recalls. He holds an MSc degree on the determinants of grass composition and production in Kruger National Park, from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
What on earth is a ‘pachycaul’? It is a plant with a disproportionately thick main stem in relation to its height, and with few or no side-branches. Yes, in Kruger, this is the baobab, Adansonia digitata – perhaps one of the best-known trees in the world, and an icon of the African savannas.
