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Boost for keepers of endangered vultures

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BY GUY ROGERS - 23 October 2018

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The endangered Cape vulture is endemic to Southern Africa but numbers have been declining steadily for several decades - Photo: supplied

Two fledgling vulture enthusiasts from the Eastern Cape arrived in the Magaliesberg on Monday for the start of a new vulture conservation training course run by NGO Vulpro.

Vulpro founder Keri Wolter welcomed the pair at the organisation’s base near Haartesbeespoort Dam outside Pretoria and said she was excited about the possibilities for boosting conservation and empowering her students.

They will be trained in monitoring vulture populations and handling and treating injured birds.

The two men, Mfuneko Maxwebisa, 38, from Idutywa, and Sonwabile Daza, 29, from Mount Fletcher, were clearly self-starters fuelled by their passion for nature and vultures in particular, she said.

“We’ve managed to get them sponsored binoculars and are hoping to source equipment like cameras and clipboards to help make their job of recording easier.”

Komani-based Vulpro representative Kate Webster said Maxwebisa had worked as an assistant to a research student who was ringing endangered Cape vultures from the Collywobbles colony near Idutywa and he had developed a particular interest in the birds.

“He used to contact me with sighting information and at one point rescued a bird that had been attacked by dogs.

“His energy and enthusiasm impressed me and I knew we had to get him on board.”

Webster discussed the idea with Maxwebisa and Wolter and it was agreed it would be a major boost for vulture conservation if members of communities in vulture hotspots could be empowered to help protect these birds.

Vulpro representatives did not receive salaries but an application would be made to the Eastern Cape Development Corporation to fund Maxwebisa, as he was presently unemployed, she said.

“The hope is he could be established as a guardian of Collywobbles, which is the biggest Cape Vulture colony in the Eastern Cape.”

Home to 85 breeding pairs of Cape vultures, Collywobbles is located on the Mbhashe River – downstream from Mvezo, the birthplace of former president Nelson Mandela.

The second biggest colony in the province, with 45 pairs, is at Karenmelkspruit between Lady Grey and Barkly East.

There are a total of about 300 pairs in the Eastern Cape, a key segment of the 4,000-odd breeding pairs of Cape vultures across the species’ Southern African range.

The species likes to nest on cliffs in mountainous areas and there are large parts of the old Transkei that provide perfect habitat, including around Mount Fletcher.

Daza, who founded the Eastern Cape Highlands Bird Club in the Mount Fletcher area, was another frequent caller to Vulcro, often wanting to know what to do with injured vultures he had come across, she said.

“So we spoke to him and he was also brought on board for the training course.”

The most serious threat to the Cape vulture was collisions with electricity pylons, but wind farms were also taking their toll with 12 birds killed since these developments went up in vulture areas, she said.

“Cape vultures are also battling to find enough food so we encourage farmers in suitable areas to run vulture restaurants. But care has to be taken because carcasses of stock that have been euthanased or treated with anti-inflammatories can kill the birds.”

One of the best known vulture restaurants was run by Murray Andrews, brother of former Springbok Mark Andrews, with carcasses from his Elliot abattoir, she said.

Daza said on Monday the team had already been introduced to several other vulture species at the Vulcro site, each with “a different mindset”.

“We are looking forward to the week ahead,” he said.

https://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2018- ... -vultures/


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