Africa’s largest vulture relocation project has gotten the green light with the Eastern Cape set to become hundreds of these ecosystem and heritage-precious birds.
Eastern Cape, South Africa (31 October 2023) — The largest relocation of vultures ever undertaken has reached a critical milestone after approval was granted to move the first tranche of 155 birds to their new home in the Eastern Cape.
This after the Department of Forestry Fisheries and Environment gave the project its green light. Now, it’s all systems go to create a special facility at Shamwari Private Game Reserve, not far from the current Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre thanks to vulture helpers, VulPro.
VulPro (who address the declining African vulture species with soaring intervention efforts) at Shamwari is set to be the new home for the vultures. Currently, these birds are situated at the conservation organisation’s facilities in Hartebeesport. Their new home is premised to be a haven-in-the-making for Cape and African White-backed Vultures and all the birds to follow in the coming years.
The first phase of the largest vulture relocation programme will begin in late January and the entire duration of the programme looks at two years. Over this period, these efforts will see Lappet-faced, White-headed and Hooded Vultures join the moving phases, among others.
According to VulPro’s CEO Kerri Wolter, the vultures soon to be on the move are all non-releasable breeding birds, but the Cape Vulture’s offspring will be released on Shamwari with tracking devices, while the remaining species offspring will return to Hartebeesport to be released at various sites where the species needs bolstering, in line with the National Vulture Breeding Steering Committee’s identification.
As vultures play a huge role in ecosystem maintenance and certain species hold heritage-based importance, the big bird move is a welcomed one, and the fact that it will be happening on South African soil is even more reason for bird lovers to celebrate.
Meanwhile, in other bird-positive news, a massive coastal reclamation project on Marion Island is looking more hopeful than ever thanks to BirdLife South Africa’s team-up with several international conservation bodies. You can read all about it, here.
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