Protecting vulture populations in Africa presents some unique challenges for conservationists. These slow-breeding and ecologically vital scavengers range over vast territories and are vulnerable to poisons targeting other species and expanding infrastructure like power lines. Creating “vulture safe zones” has emerged as a way to address these broad and varied threats, but putting them into […]
Tag: Cape vulture
How poaching caused over 100 vultures to die in mass poisoning in South African national park
At least 123 vultures died in South Africa‘s flagship national park after eating the carcass of a poisoned elephant, park authorities and an animal conservation group said on Thursday. The elephant was reportedly laced with agricultural pesticides by poachers. Another 83 vultures that were rescued from the site and transported for treatment by helicopter or […]
Bearded giants gliding the barrier of spears
This is the first post from my trip to Giant’s Castle in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg park in mid-July. Apart from the breath-taking beauty, a key attraction at Giant’s Castle was its vulture hide. The uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park has Africa’s highest mountain range south of Kilimanjaro. It presents a formidable horizon of massive basalt cliffs in […]