Supplied
There is great excitement at Africa's only vulture-focused conservation organisation, Vulpro, following the sighting of 15 wild Cape vultures on a farm in the Karoo.
In a statement, Vulpro said the vultures were spotted this week on the farm, which is 40 kilometers outside the Mountain Zebra National Park, at Spitskop.
"After not seeing vultures in this region for over 30 years, news of the sighting comes as a huge relief and is a testament to the incredible work Vulpro is doing to improve survival rates of vultures who have been poisoned and hunted to near extinction, with some species already ceasing to exist," the conservation organisation said.
Vulpro said this was testament to the incredible work being done to improve survival rates of vultures who have been poisoned and hunted to near extinction, with some species already ceasing to exist.
The organization said since the 1980s, Cape Vulture numbers have been steadily declining. Between 1992 and 2007, populations in South Africa reduced by 60-70% and were first categorised as ‘threatened’.
By 2021, the total population size was estimated at 9,600 to 12,800 mature individuals, which raised their status to ‘vulnerable’ showing their numbers were improving.
However, vulture numbers overall were declining dramatically, with some species experiencing reductions of up to 80 % in recent decades, leading to what is termed the ‘African Vulture Crisis’.
Kerri Wolter, the CEO and founder of Vulpro, said while they were starting to see some vultures returning to historical roosting sites the rate of decline remains worrying.
“Sightings like this one near Graaff-Reinet shows that the work we are doing is making a difference which motivates us to keep working around the clock to curb further vulture species declines,” she said.
Wolter said they announced in January that vultures were spotted feeding on the remains of a carcass at the Shamwari Private Game Reserve for the first time, after they relocated their rehabilitation centre and captive breeding facility to the reserve.
“The vultures’ return to Shamwari, and other regions of the Eastern Cape is a major step forward in their recovery and underscores the importance of supplementing the wild Cape Vultures,” she said.
“Vultures are nature’s misunderstood heroes, yet they face devastating population declines due to electrocutions and collisions with energy infrastructure, poisoning, trade in vultures for belief based purposes, habitat loss, and negative public perception.
"By recognising them as crucial ecological guardians we can re-write the story around vultures and inspire meaningful conservation,” Wolter said.
