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CapeNature has discovered what appears to be elephant teeth on Dyer Island near Gansbaai.
The island is a 20-hectare nature reserve, situated 8.5km from Kleinbaai.
The discovery of what appears to be elephant molar teeth was made by CapeNature staff during a routine trip to the island.
The minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in the Western Cape, Anton Bredell says the discovery is exciting and opens up many possibilities and mysteries.
Extensive documented and peer-reviewed evidence indicates that around 18, 000 to 20, 000 years ago reduced sea levels exposed a broad southern coastal plain or “Palaeo-Agulhas Bank” of around 60, 000 km2.
This allowed large land-based mammals to migrate onto this coastal plain and possibly make their way to the area known today as Dyer Island.
Fossil evidence discovered to date indicates that the large mammal community was species-rich and dominated by large grazing ungulates, including equids and antelopes, and quite possibly elephants. More recent evidence also suggests that elephants were present on the Agulhas
Plain as the remains of a skeleton were found at De Mond Nature Reserve some years ago.
The Shipwreck Museum in Bredasdorp also houses elephant remains from the region.
“The latest discovery is now under investigation to confirm the record and to try and determine how it ended up on Dyer Island,” says Bredell.
