RHINO & LION WILDLIFE CONSERVATION’S
VULTURE PROGRAMME
In association with the
University of Pretoria, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences
And the
Endangered Wildlife Trust
ANNUAL REPORT: October 2007 – September 2008
Executive Summary
The Vulture Programme, together with its project partners, has over the past year contributed in an ever
increasing way to the conservation of vultures and in highlighting their plight. We are improving our
understanding of vulture movements within the Magaliesberg Range, and in doing so using our research to
benefit colonies throughout South Africa and abroad. We are constantly improving our understanding of the
ongoing threats our vultures are facing as we regularly lose our vultures to the ever present dangers of
poisonings, powerlines and more recently the ‘muti’ trade as well as vulture restaurants. Never before have
vulture restaurants been thought of as a ‘danger’ to vultures, however South Africa has a well established
veterinary service to the livestock industry and this, together with the hunting industry, places our vultures in a
potentially precarious position with regards to their scavenging habits. Over and above, we continually strive to
improve people’s perceptions of vultures, by educating our future leaders about the importance of vultures in our
ecosystem and the necessity to conserve them. We maintain a wide demographic so as to encourage people to
become ‘vulture friendly’ leaders.
The rehabilitation centre in Skeerpoort has grown in leaps and bounds over the past 2 years. Starting off with one
small vulture enclosure, 3 meters high, 5 meters wide and 10 meters long, we have progressed to a massive ‘first
class’ enclosure, 7 meters high, 9 meters wide and a whopping 40 meters long. This has provided our vultures
with ample space to fly, building up their muscle capacity and giving those non-releasable vultures some sense
of space and freedom. Thanks to our dedicated and enthusiastic volunteer team, we now also have 6 spacious
and airy hospital enclosures, with ‘vulture houses’ where birds can be given special care and TLC during their
recovery period.
This report details specific highlights, outcomes of each project and constrains we are currently faced with. So
much more could have been included, however in today’s fast moving business environment; I thought it best to
include only the relevant points. Our ongoing activities and efforts to conserve southern Africa’s vultures is a
tribute to you, our loyal sponsors and supporters who generously assist us with much needed financial support
and ongoing help, loyalty and dedication towards this cause. It is because of YOU that we are able to achieve
our results and make a difference to our very special feathered friends. I do hope you will find this report
fruitful, proving that your assistance has been put to excellent use. On behalf of the Vulture Programme,
THANK YOU!
Kerri Wolter
Manager
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Conservation and Scientific Highlights:
a) Through collaborative efforts with project partners, a unanimous decision was reached at the OIE meeting in
Senegal in March 2008. At this meeting, African regulatory officers took the decision that the use of
veterinary diclofenac should be banned on the African continent. This recommendation will be put forward
to individual governments by the delegates. The South African recommendation is currently with the
Department of Agriculture.
b) Kerri Wolter was elected as the Cape Vulture Task Force coordinator on behalf of the Endangered Wildlife
Trust (EWT) at the Birds of Prey Conference held in Skukuza during May 2008.
c) The Skeerpoort vulture restaurant on the farm Nyoka Ridge attracts approximately 100 vultures daily.
d) In June, we managed to secure a sponsored Mazda vehicle through the Mazda Wildlife Fund.
e) We have also managed to secure sound veterinary advise and assistance through the Johannesburg
Zoological Gardens and the Exotic Animal Clinic at Onderstepoort.
f) Publications co-authored:
a. “The race to prevent the extinction of South Asian Vultures”
b. “Establishment of selected baseline blood chemistry and hematologic parameters in captive and
wild-caught African White-backed Vultures (Gyps africanus)”
c. “Another endangered vulture species susceptible to Diclofenac. When will the drug be banned?”
d. “Naturally acquired antibodies to Bacillus anthracis protective antigen in vultures of southern
Africa”
e. “Status of Cape Vultures (Gyps coprotheres) in the Magaliesberg, South Africa”
PROJECT RESULTS:
Magaliesberg Risk Assessment
Colony Monitoring:
Once again we have undertaken the annual Magaliesberg Cape Vulture breeding census, at this stage, we have
only completed the breeding pairs count but will resume with our chick and fledgling counts from September to
November. From the below table, it appears that our breeding numbers are gradually increasing which could be
attributed to the amount of food available at the nearby vulture restaurants.
Table 1: Number of breeding pairs:
Skeerpoort
Nooitgedacht
Robert’s Farm
Total
2007
275
88
6
369
2008
277
118
6
401
Cell Phone Tracking and Tagging
Over the past two years, a total of 12 devices have been fitted onto Magaliesberg Cape Vultures with the
majority on adults. It is hoped to fit another 8 devices onto juveniles or immature birds at the end of this year as
it is suspected their foraging range differs considerably to that of the adults. A total of 186 vultures have been
tagged, 121 of these being wild caught vultures and the remainder being rehabilitated vultures. To-date, we have
received 216 re-sightings with the majority being at the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve’s vulture restaurant and
Mogales’ Gate vulture restaurant. Some interesting re-sightings include; B129 and B117 at Northington vulture
restaurant in the central Drakensberg; B034, B163 and B130 in Botswana at the Mannyelanong vulture colony.
We are collaborating with a GIS/ migratory expert at the Kansas State University and all the data will be
evaluated at the end of the sampling period. However, to-date some of the adult data has being analysed for the
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PAOC presentation in September entitled “Does the presence of vulture restaurants influence the movement of
Cape Vultures in the Magaliesberg”, below is the abstract:
DOES THE PRESENCE OF VULTURE RESTAURANTS INFLUENCE THE MOVEMENT OF CAPE
VULTURES (gyps coprotheres) IN THE MAGALIESBERG?
Kerri Wolter, Vinny Naidoo, Craig Whittington-Jones, Steven Piper
Cape Vulture numbers have been declining throughout their range and while the reason(s) for this are not well
understood, food shortage, poisoning, powerline collisions and electrocutions are thought to be the main threats.
Interestingly, the Cape Vulture population in the Magaliesberg appears to have stabilized and may well be
increasing despite substantial habitat transformation. Construction-related disturbances are thought to have
caused the Nooitgedacht colony to be abandoned in the 1960s and while breeding resumed there in 1991.
Poisoning and powerline associated mortalities have resulted in the virtual extinction of the Robert’s Farm
colony. Only the Skeerpoort colony has continued to thrive. The establishment of an artificial feeding site at
Nooitgedacht is thought to have been instrumental in promoting the recolonization of the abandoned colony at
that site. The subsequent establishment of a further, regularly provisioned restaurant at the Rhino and Lion
Nature Reserve (RLNR) has possibly also contributed to the recovery of this species in the Magaliesberg, though
the dependence of Cape Vultures on these artificial food sources remains to be determined. Cellular tracking
devises with pre-programmed points of download, were used to determine the foraging ranges of nine freeranging adult Cape Vultures in the Magaliesberg area. Vultures were captured at the RLNR in a purpose built
aviary. An additional 121 Cape Vultures were tagged with individually numbered, yellow patagial tags for
visual re-sightings. 540 GPS locality readings per bird were obtained over a 6 month period. All movements
were south of the Magaliesberg breeding colonies with the maximum distance recorded of 262km. All resightings of tagged adult were within a 100 km radius of the colonies whereas the immature birds were
occasionally re-sighted as far as Botswana. The cell phone telemetry and re-sightings of patagial tagged vultures
suggests that they largely restrict their movements to the areas they associate with food. With the ongoing
urbanisation around Hartbeespoort Dam and the Magaliesberg Mountains, there are limited natural areas
available for the vultures to forage. Therefore it is possible that these vultures have developed a dependency on
vulture restaurants for their survival.
Threats
Vultures throughout Southern Africa face many threats including: powerline electrocution and collisions,
poisonings, loss of food, loss of habitat, reduction in safe foraging ranges, NSAIDs NSAIDS? through the
treatment of livestock fed at vulture restaurants, drowning in farm reservoirs etc. It has become apparent that one
of these threats repeatedly stands out in the Magaliesberg region; POWERLINE ELECTROCUTIONS and
COLLISIONS.
Since October 2007 to September 2008, we have found 7 electrocuted vultures and treated 8 birds (2 spotted
eagle owls, 1 Brown Snake eagle and 5 Cape Vultures). These are only the known cases of powerline incidents
and we fear there is a lot more which we do not even know about.
We have dealt with many cases of injured vultures due to powerline collisions and have reported fatalities due to
electrocutions. With the ongoing urbanization around the Hartbeespoort dam, more pressure is being put on
electricity supplies and thereby additional sub-stations, powerlines etc are being erected. These are all having a
detrimental effect on our vulture population along the Magaliesberg Mountains. With the help of the EWTEskom partnership, we hope to address this issue by making the ‘high-risk’ areas bird-friendly. This all takes
considerable amounts of time and money. Having said this, the first line to be modified with bird flappers is the
large line running through the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve. This has already been approved and we are now
waiting for the actual modification to be affected.
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Education
Throughout the year, many presentations and vulture experiences were given to a wide spectrum of people
ranging from nursery school kids through to high school pupils, bird clubs, horse riders, sponsors, land
developers, media and the general public. In total 1239 individuals were reached through our educational
programme. Below is a list of the institutions visited:
 Northern Gauteng Birdclub
 St Mary’s School
 Bryanpark Nursery School
 Redstone development in Broedestroom
 Rand Merchant Bank
 BirdLife North Gauteng Region
 Slightly Cuckoo Bird Club
 Hartbeespoort Environment & Heritage Association
 Hartbeespoort Bird Club
 Van Gaalen Cheese Farm / Holleybrook Horse Trails
 Menlopark Laerskool
 Peconwood College
 Hyde Park Pony Camp
 Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve
 Decorative Arts Society
 Eagle’s Canyon Golf Day
 Herenbridge Primary School
 Rand Barbet Bird Club
 The Ring Oxwagon
Two educational posters were also designed, printed and distributed:
 General poster on the Vulture Programme
 Vulture Restaurant Poster
Rehabilitation
A total of 39 vultures were rehabilitated throughout the year and 24 of these were released back into the wild, all
with patagial tags for re-sighting purposes and 2 with cellular tracking devices. Unfortunately 8 had to be
euthanaised due to the severity of their injuries. As it is impossible to keep all non-releasable vultures at the
rehab centre and a non-releasable vulture was donated to an educational facility called BushPigs in the Limpopo
Province.
Four Spotted Eagle Owls were also collected, unfortunately 3 had to be euthanaised due to badly broken wings
and the remaining 1 is being monitored for release. A Brown Snake Eagle and Black-breasted Snake Eagle were
also collected and donated to the Johannesburg Zoo as part of their display and breeding potential. Unfortunately
the Brown Snake Eagle died due to a badly burnt wing due to a powerline collision.
Vulture Chemical Threat Project:
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Lead study: The aim of this study is to document the exposure level of vultures to lead in South Africa. The
study has been temporarily halted for the breeding season. We have managed to sample eight birds in Etosha
National Park in June. A vulture restaurant in Otjiwarango, Namibia is scheduled to be sampled in
November 2008. A restaurant in Pilanesberg is scheduled for sampling in November/December 2008.
Estrogen Disruptors: The aim of this study is to determine the influence of various chemicals on female
reproduction. The model has been validated. We are awaiting delivery of chemicals, for the screening to
begin.
Choline Esterase Inhibition: This study is aimed at determining the normal choline-esterase levels in vultures
so that veterinarians can more accurately diagnose poisonings from the organophospors or carbamates. The
second aim of the study will be determine if any of the veterinary chemicals are potent inhibitors of the
enzyme. The assay has been validated. Fifteen birds have already been tested. Another twenty-five birds will
be sampled in September/October to establish the species normal range. Hereafter various chemicals will be
tested to determine their inhibitory potential.
NSAIDs: The screening of veterinary NSAIDs for their toxicity potential. The in vitro model is in an early
stage of development.
Vulture Restaurant Survey: This project is a census of the vulture restaurants in the country. In the recent
past, over two hundred were reported to operate in the country. From the completed forms or failure in
delivery, we have a more complete picture of the vulture populations, which has shown that the numbers of
restaurants have decline to fewer than one hundred.
Banking: At present over a five hundred samples have been banked at the National Zoological Gardens. The
banked material has already contributed to other researcher’s projects such as the study on the genetics of
bird haemaglobin.
Constraints Faced by the Project
 We have been denied permits for Kimberly, a major colony, due to the permit office assertion that
capturing birds will be contrary to the goals of eco-tourism.
 We have met with poor success in Kwa-Zulu Natal, due to erratic landing behavior of the vulture in the
area i.e. they don’t feed constantly at one site, to enable baiting of the birds.
 Eastern Cape Province cannot be sampled due to the wide-spread availability of carcasses in the area:
Baiting for capture is not possible.
 We have been unable to attract students into the project, due to a lack of student bursaries.
 The frustration in trying to prevent powerline incidents and the modification of the these lines to ‘birdfriendly’ status.
Media List
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Wild Limited
Saturday Star x 2
Pretoria News
The Star
SABC News
Radio 702
Bush Radar x 2
SABC 2 Afgri TV
Eskom News
Komorant x 3
IOL
Afgriland
Vulture News
FreeMe, magazine
Birds & Birding
African Indaba Newsletter
50/50
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Tusk Talk (UK publication)
Wildlife Ranching
Africa Geographic
Farming SA
Acknowledgements
Aberdare Cables
Computer Facilities
Eskom
Lomas Wildlife Protection Trust
Mazda Wildlife Fund
Natural Encounters in the USA
Rand Merchant Bank
Tony & Lisette Lewis Foundation
Tusk Trust
WWF-SA and AFGRI
Partners
Endangered Wildlife Trust
Exotic Animals at OP
GDACE
Johannesburg Zoo
North West Nature Conservation
Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve
RSPB
University of Pretoria
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