African Wildlife & Environment Issue 82

FAUNA, FLORA & WILDLIFE

Bat Hawk on nest at night

in South Africa, with only 75-100 birds thought to exist (as per the BirdLife - SA Red Data Book), most of them thought to occur in the Lowveld region. This speaks about the importance of retaining this species’ natural habitat, especially the riparian forests alongside the Limpopo, Levuvhu, Letaba, Sabie and Crocodile rivers. The Bat Hawk is also indicative of the plight of many otherbirds of prey, not only in the Lowveld, but throughout Africa. In particular migratory raptors such as Steppe Eagle, Lesserspotted Eagle, Pallid Harrier, Hobby Falcon, Amur Falcon and other species are decreasing in numbers. In order to better protect these raptors it is important to understand their threats and propose solutions on how to mitigate these. Fortunately, there are a number of people who are committed to their conservation and want to ensure that people get the chance to marvel at these birds, far into the future. other

Rael Loon mloon@icon.co.za

Diagram of monitoring system at nest site

28 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 82 (2022)