HUNDREDS OF reptiles have been brought to safety preceding the clearance of one of the largest of Coega Industrial Development Zone sites - a 150-hectare area prepared in the metallurgical cluster for a proposed aluminium smelter using technology from French firm Aluminium Pechiney. The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has employed the services of Bayworld and a local environmental company to find new homes for the numerous animals and plants found in the area. “A ten-strong team have been on site from sun rise each day for the past three weeks,” says Linda Redfern of Landscape and Environmental Services. “Already, we have moved nearly 100 tortoises, about 50 lizards and more than 46 000 plants. “Bayworld herpetologist Dr Bill Branch has been instrumental in showing us how to handle reptiles and spiders and how to find homes for them,” says Redfern. “So far we have found three types of tortoise species,” she adds. Rescuing tortoises has not been as simple a mission as initially thought. “Most reptiles can be carried to a bush area a few kilometres down the road, but the leopard tortoise would move directly back to its original home, so we had to build temporary pens for them on our relocation farm. We are also on a learning curve as to what to feed these tortoises now housed in the pen - the food we are giving them is on a trial and error basis as very little is known about the wild leopard tortoise!” Together with Dr Branch, the team has also relocated a number of harmless snakes such as skaapstekers and the beautiful harlequin snake, as well as geckoes, big chameleons and the unusually large and fast sun spider. “We have yet to find the elusive and rare Albany adder, but a rare lizard which was far south of its natural habitat, has been captured,” says Redfern. The lizard is being housed by a delighted Dr Branch. “Puffadders, boomslangs and cobras are too dangerous for us to move. Most of them will get out of the way anyway when they sense encroachment by the construction teams. However, one female puffadder was caught by Dr Branch because it was about to give birth.” Bayworld has designed a meticulous programme and intensive rescue operation one site at a time to ensure the safety of the wildlife which cannot be captured at the site, such as buck, kestrels, doves and other birds. The herpetologist is also providing ongoing training to the bush clearers and bulldozer operators. “There is a clear route of escape for the animals,” says Redfern. “The bush clearers start on the south side of the Coega site and move towards the north, thus leaving the Northern boundary near the hill and Coega station open for escape. Caring for the environment is evident even among the bulldozer operators. We recently had a call from one of the CDC staff to ask us to fetch a baby puffadder that was found in a trench. None of the bulldozer drivers were prepared to drive over it!”