African Wildlife and Environment Issue 65

BIRDING

I think the first time I honestly realised how serious Kerri Wolter was about saving vultures was the first time she nearly killed me. I was jerked awake by the rumble of tyres on gravel as the bakkie slowed to a stop. Rolling over from my place on the reclined passenger seat, I only had one question:

For this reason, VulPro now has built a release enclosure above the Cape Vulture colony at Nooitgedacht, near Hekpoort. The hope is that birds bred or captured at VulPro can now be released back into a natural and vibrant colony. I have watched the staff at Vulpro for a good few months now, and I am struck by a few things. Firstly the birds are looked after as individuals, and secondly the involvement , buy-in, understanding and collaboration amongst farmers, landowners, communities, organisations, and people from all walks of life, that bring a united approach to protecting and preserving vultures for generations to come. Second, there is a dedication to science and the sharing of information that would be the envy of any university department. They are intensely aware that information kept to themselves is information wasted. They publish with an enthusiasm that belies quite how busy their day to day lives are. Thus extensive annual monitoring of cliff- and tree-nesting vultures is continuously undertaken, in order to understand population numbers and threats. Extensive ground breaking research is undertaking with project partners for the greater good of vultures throughout the world, and VulPro’s understanding of vulture movements is essential and used to lobby conservationists, governments, private and public sectors to join forces in the fight to halt the African Vulture Crisis. Finally, I am struck by the dedication. Everyone at VulPro lives and breathes birds. They show a loyalty to their organisation and to the species that they are working on saving that is an inspiration to those of us in other sectors of the environmental game. VulPro is a jewel in South Africa’s conservation crown. It is an exhausting operation to run and the work is frequently thankless and unpleasant, but it is also indisputably valuable. We would do well to use this model to provide conservation support to other South African species in desperate need. For more information, visit VulPro’s website at www.vulpro.com or follow their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VulProAfrica/. As a non-profit organisation, VulPro is dependent on donations and sponsorships for its survival and would appreciate any contributions and goodwill, no matter how small. Have you found a vulture, bird of prey or other large bird that needs help in Southern Africa? (or even further afield?). Please call Kerri immediately (All Hours!). In many cases, hours make the difference between life or death / releasable or not, so do not wait!

“Are we stopping or did you fall asleep?” ”I fell asleep”, came her sheepish reply.

birds, including the only dedicated captive Cape Vulture breeding colony in the world, and hospital facilities for birds of all species that have collided with powerlines or been poisoned. Arrive there on any afternoon and you will find school children from the local high schools wandering among the cages, filling out worksheets and soaking in the experience of being up close and personal with Africa’s most magnificent birds. These kids fall in love with VulPro. She receives love letters (to the birds) and poems dedicated to vultures. There are few school programmes which afford urban children an opportunity to interact with wild animals on such a meaningful and regular basis. In addition, many of these rural and urban children are unaware as to the importance of their responsibility towards the environment as well as themselves. Thus VulPro has created a platform for these children to learn, gain hands-on exposure and experience to species conservation and the environment as a whole, providing opportunities for them to become socially and environmentally responsible and champion goodwill, care and empathy towards all forms of life. Early on in her career at VulPro, Kerri realised that a number of the released birds were refusing to leave the ready source of food that was available within the aviaries, and so began her vulture restaurant. Now, two to three times a week, carcasses are placed on her land and the sky quickly fills with birds from the local colonies. The local Cape Vultures are joined by African White-backed Vultures, Marabou Storks, Pied Crows, Yellow-billed Kites and Cattle Egrets. Occasionally one or more of Kerri’s pack of farm dogs join all the birds as well as they go out with Kerri. But first and foremost, VulPro will always be about caring for the birds. When Kerri rolled out of bed after two hours of sleep that Sunday morning, she set off to do her rounds of birds that needed immediate treatment, but also to assess a multitude of birds now ready to be released back into the wild. She also has a significant population of birds that can never fly again. Like the amputees and victims of power lines who will now live out their lives within the confines of VulPro’s aviaries. Considering the number of wild birds or new releases who choose to visit these populations, these aviaries don’t seem to be a particularly bad place to be. However, it is clear that, from VulPro’s perspective, an ideal outcome would be to never see a released bird again. Every bird that is captive bred or treated at the facility is tagged and many of them are satellite tracked. Some have been phenomenal successes, ranging out into Botswana and Zimbabwe, while others experience a failure to launch, like truculent teenagers, refusing to venture beyond the kitchen.

The call had come at seven the previous evening. An African White-backed Vulture, looking miserable and now in the back garden of a farmer’s house in Schweizer Reneke. The bird looked depressed, sad, and did not want to eat. Even as she got the call I knew our dinner plans were up the spout, and so we started packing. Coffee mugs, heavy duty gloves, a saline drip and a carry crate were hurriedly loaded into the vehicle. We rolled out of VulPro’s headquarters at around the same time as everyone else was trying to remember if they still ever watched the SABC evening news. We got to the bird after midnight, greeted by farm dogs and a caring mug of coffee. Kerri rehydrated the bird by tube into its crop after attempts to set up a drip in the dancing torchlight failed. We looked at each other, shrugged, and got back in the car for the drive home. We played every song on my iPad. We yelled at each other. I slapped myself while staring down the beam of the headlights. As dawn was finally breaking, we rolled back into VulPro. Immediately, we were greeted by her team of staff who had come onto duty fifteen minutes before, this Sunday morning. They took hold of the bird (a female now christened ‘Hope’) and ‘processed’ her. This means ringing her for identification purposes, assessing her damagedwings, dehydration levels and a full assessment on weight. The assessment revealed two burnt wings due to an electrocution from a poorly designed power line. Two hours of sleep and Kerri rolled back out of bed to treat Hope, but also to deal with a Cape Vulture with ‘bumble-foot’ (imagine a terrible case of bunions), two cases of birds that had collided with powerlines and a Free State bird that we suspect was poisoned. I watched her move among her birds, and steeled myself for another day in my own work in bird conservation, I was struck by the importance of her work against the background of the threats that face our vultures in South Africa and further afield on the continent. There are some phenomenal conservation success stories in South Africa. Ross Wanless’s work has decreased albatross mortalities by 99% from long line trawlers. Ian Player almost single-handedly brought the White Rhino back from the brink in Northern KwaZulu Natal. Going further back, the foresight of President Paul Kruger (with some help from the Tsetse fly) allowed James Stevenson-Hamilton to set up the Kruger National Park, that is now so close to all of our hearts. I’ve watched Kerri Wolter apply the same care and exactitude to the preservation and conservation of vultures. To visit her facility on the outskirts of Hartbeeespoort is to visit a wonderland of all things vulturine. She has rehabilitation facilities for over 180

Cape Vulture

Simon Gear is an environmental scientist with twenty years of science communication experience. He has worked with most of South Africa’s conservation organisations, most recently as a staff member with BirdLife South Africa. Simon works as a consulting air quality specialist, freelance writer and professional speaker. simon@kijanigreen.co.za or 082 821 4975

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65 | African Wildlife & Environment | 65 (2017)