Cape Town’s Tokai fire: SPCA races to rescue wildlife amid heartbreaking silence of devastation

A helicopter carries water above Noordhoek during the fire in Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town on 27 April 27, 2025. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)

By Kristin Engel and Suné Payne

29 Apr 2025

While helicopters have been grounded due to poor visibility in the ongoing fires in Cape Town, work to contain the fires and assist the vulnerable, including affected wildlife, continues.

On Tuesday, 29 April 2025, with light rain beginning to trickle down upon approximately 3,000 hectares that had been burnt by the Tokai fire in Cape Town, SPCA inspectors continued to traverse the blackened and smouldering area in search of wildlife that had been caught in the blaze.

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA’s Wildlife Unit has stepped in to rescue and care for animals that were injured or displaced by the fire, and has been at it since the weekend, treating burns and dehydrated animals.

Belinda Abraham, Cape of Good Hope SPCA spokesperson, told Daily Maverick: “The most obvious sign of the devastation is just the absolute silence in the landscapes. Being out there searching those fire-devastated areas, it’s the equivalent of a ghost town.”

Abraham said they were not hearing any of the usual sounds that you would hear in nature. “That’s quite heartbreaking.”

On Tuesday, City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said: “The helicopters that were airborne earlier have been grounded again, due to poor visibility this morning.”

He said of the light rain, “It is hoped that this will provide some much-needed relief and expedite efforts to extinguish the fire that’s been burning since Friday evening.”

Management teams will assess the situation and decide on the way forward. The fires in parts of the city, such as the Tokai and Silvermine sections of Table Mountain National Park, have spread to nearby suburbs including Tokai, Zwaanswyk, Noordhoek and Clovelly.

Read more: People warned to steer clear of Cape Town blaze, crews focus on protecting homes

On Tuesday morning, South African National Parks (SANParks) said there was a flare-up above Boyes Drive, which was slowly burning down towards the road in Lakeside. There was another flare-up in Chapman’s Peak.

“The fireline above Tokai is being managed well, with much of the active fire from last night extinguished. Crews remain in the area to ensure flare is addressed swiftly if it occurs,” said SANParks.

As the fire continues to rage, community spirit has once again emerged, with even children helping to make sandwiches for firefighters and volunteers who have been battling the blazes.

‘An animal welfare crisis’

In terms of the species that have been most affected, Abraham said they were finding many slower-moving species like tortoises, snakes, and a lot of other ground species like nesting birds burned in the wake of the blaze.

For the nesting birds, Abraham said that the best-case scenario was that they would have lost their nests. The worst-case scenario was the birds that lost their lives.

“This scale of loss is heartbreaking. We have been able to find one or two survivors. Yesterday, we were quite delighted by a surviving little field mouse that was in its burrow. So we’re encouraged by that, because when you start finding signs of life, then you know that there are survivors,” said Abraham.

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA’s Wildlife Unit has stepped in to rescue and care for animals injured or displaced by the fire and has been at it since the weekend, treating burns and dehydrated animals. (Photo: Cape of Good Hope SPCA)

Scope of the wildfire which broke out in Tokai on Friday. (Source: SanParks TMNP)

The focus for the Wildlife Unit right now was the rescue and rehabilitation of those that they could save.

“A fire isn’t just an environmental event. It’s always an animal welfare crisis, and that is what it is at this stage. We currently have about 10 of our officers out in the field, searching the areas that are safe,” said Abraham.

The SPCA has doubled its rescue efforts in the Silvermine area, and as its staff search they are calling out for a dog that went missing during the evacuation there.

Holly, a dachshund cross, was frightened and fled during the evacuation. Abraham said her elderly owner was desperately waiting for news, and they were doing everything to find her. The team was also able to rescue a porcupine on Monday in the Tokai forest.

“We think that the smoke drove him out into the open, and a very kind family came across him,” said Abraham.

The major injuries they were seeing in the wildlife were burns. Regarding the wildlife that died, Abraham said they were either overcome by smoke or had been burned.

“We’re coming across animals that are basically frozen in time. They’ve just been turned to ash… You can actually see them positioned as if they were fleeing… It’s really heartbreaking. So the loss is very hard to see, but we have hope that there are (more) survivors and are determined to find those that need our help,” said Abraham.

Andy Davis, the chairperson of Friends of Table Mountain — which advocates for the sustainable use of Table Mountain National Park — said that while they understood and appreciated that fynbos had to burn occasionally, they were devastated by the extent of this highly destructive fire.

“We are concerned about the regular nature of these fires, which does not allow for sufficient recovery of the fynbos and the significant impact on the fauna in this extensive area,” said Davies.

The affected area was also an important recreational area used by many locals and tourists alike, with a significant portion destroyed by the fire, according to the Friends group. Davies said the fact that Table Mountain National Park experienced so many fires next to the urban fringe warranted a relook at how fires were prevented and fought.

“Perhaps more proactive and limited controlled burns in winter could prevent out-of-control fires,” he said.

One person arrested

On Monday, one person was arrested in the Lakeside area after residents spotted him walking with cans.

On Tuesday morning, Western Cape SAPS spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg told Daily Maverick that a 37-year-old man had been arrested and detained at Fish Hoek Police Station for starting a fire in a nature conservation area.

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA’s Wildlife Unit on Monday rescued a porcupine in the Tokai forest in the wake of the blaze. (Photo: Cape of Good Hope SPCA)

Noordhoek during a raging fire at Table Mountain National Park on 27April 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)

But Twigg told Daily Maverick: “However, there is no indication that he can be linked to the Table Mountain fires. He will also be charged for the possession of mandrax and in terms of the Immigration Act.”

The suspect will appear in the Simons Town Magistrate’s court on Wednesday, 30 April 2025.

Read more: Arson suspect arrested as firefighters continue to battle blazes in the south of Cape Town

Speaking about the arrest and a possible investigation, Democratic Alliance (DA) Western Cape spokesperson on Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Dave Bryant, said: “We reiterate our call for a wide-ranging investigation. Not just into the broader pattern of suspected arson, but specifically into the origins of the recent Tokai fires.” DM

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South Africa

‘An animal welfare crisis’

One person arrested