November 1, 1950 - February 7, 2020
The entire Turtle Conservancy family expresses our deep loss at the passing of Margaretha Hofmeyr. She was a giant in African herpetology, and has been a treasured colleague over the past decade as we worked closely together on the joint Southern Africa Tortoise Conservation Trust (SATCT) / TC and CapeNature effort to implement a sustainable Geometric Tortoise Reserve in the Breede River Valley of the Western Cape. An indefatigable field scientist and ardent conservationist, she has focused her research on the rich South African Chelonian fauna while teaching for many decades at the University of the Western Cape (a predominately non-white institution in Cape Town). She also mentored a number of PhDs who have since become prominent tortoise biologists. In 2014 Margaretha was awarded the international Sabin Turtle Conservation Prize.
At the Elandsberg reserve, the other major geometric protected area in the Cape, she (and the talented Elandsberg staff) accomplished what was once considered impossible: aggressive, semi-captive, assisted-reproduction and headstarting of juvenile Geometric Tortoises. This effort was launched after a devastating 2012 wildfire at Elandsberg, with a species having a very poor record of survival in captivity. Under Margaretha's leadership over the past 7 years more than 150 youngsters have been produced (likely representing more that 10% of the currently surviving wild population!). Margaretha was well into planning to mount a similar effort at our Breede Valley reserve.
We also offer our deepest sympathy to Margaretha’s family. Her loving husband Theunis, who as a talented land-use lawyer handled all of our delicate and complicated tortoise habitat purchases, assembling the Breede River reserve property. Margaretha’s academic and conservation achievements will be honored later in the year by colleagues, students and friends at a major turtle conservation meeting (TSA) in Charleston, North Carolina.
- Jim Juvik, Eric Goode, and the Turtle Conservancy Team
Donations in her name may be made to the TC in support of her initiative to develop the new geometric tortoise headstarting facility at our expanded Reserve she was actively planning at the time of her passing.
