Vergelegen Wine Estate in Somerset West is celebrating a remarkable season of new life at its 3000-hectare wine estate, which includes a 400-hectare game camp located within a 1980-hectare nature reserve.
The most unusual newcomer is a dwarf Nguni calf, born on 26 December. With short, stocky legs and a distinctive brown-and-white spotted hide, he is expected to grow no taller than between knee and waist height when fully grown.
“Dwarf Nguni cattle have a much shorter lifespan than standard Nguni – usually around four years, compared to up to 20 years for a normal Nguni,” says Vergelegen’s environmental manager, Eben Olderwagen. “His mother is very protective and closely monitors anyone who approaches.”
The calf, who is yet to be named, joins another young Nguni, Henry, who is mostly white in colour and something of a celebrity on the estate. Bottle-fed and tame, Henry has formed a close bond with hospitality and events manager Sue Steenkamp and enjoys spending time in her garden.
Both calves were late arrivals. Vergelegen welcomed an impressive 133 Nguni calves between July and September last year, bringing the total Nguni herd to around 450 animals.
The baby boom has extended beyond cattle. Two eland calves were born in mid-December 2025, boosting the estate’s eland population to 11.
The original five eland – three cows and two bulls – were introduced in July 2020 from Elandsberg near Wellington as part of a long-term project to monitor their grazing impact on fynbos species and grasses.
Seven bontebok lambs were born in October 2025, bringing the total bontebok population at Vergelegen to approximately 90. While this is slightly below the usual 12 to 15 lambs born annually, Olderwagen says there is a natural explanation. “Young females are reaching breeding age, and new breeding groups are forming as young males establish their territories.”
Bontebok were introduced to Vergelegen in 2008, when 13 animals were relocated from the nearby Helderberg Nature Reserve. Since then, the population has flourished.
Vergelegen is home to several spotted eagle owls, and a pair breeds every year in oak trees near the management offices. In November last year, two owlets were discovered out of their nest at the base of the tree, where their parents continued to feed them until they could fly.
Further excitement is expected soon, with two Rau quagga mares heavily pregnant. Vergelegen is currently home to 10 Rau quagga. The first seven animals – one stallion, five mares, and a foal – were relocated from Pampoenvlei in the Atlantis/Darling area in May 2022.
The Rau quagga at Vergelegen forms part of an ambitious conservation initiative, launched in 1987, to selectively breed southern plains zebra that closely resemble the extinct quagga, which once roamed South Africa in vast herds before being hunted to extinction in the late 19th century.
Unlike other zebras, quagga typically have stripes only on the head, neck, and front portion of the body, with brownish upper sections and unstriped, pale legs and bellies.
Visitors who would like to find out more about the wildlife and biodiversity initiatives at Vergelegen can book a guided environmental tour in an open-top game drive vehicle.
These are weather-permitting, departing from the wine tasting centre at 10h00. The duration is around two hours and costs R950 per person, which includes a wine tasting, branded cap and water bottle. Maximum nine people. Contact 021 847 2111 or email winetasting@vergelegen.co.za.