The Chronicle

BULAWAYO, Saturday, February 12, 1994 — Zimbabwe’s population of the rare Taita falcons was boosted by three recently when the Zimbabwe Falconer’s club received three male birds from Peregrine Fund of America.

Mr Ron Hartley, who is looking after two of the birds said they are part of a joint project being undertaken by the Falconer’s club, the Peregrine Fund of America, and the Zimbabwe Department of Wildlife Management to study and help the Taita in Southern Africa.

The project started in 1983 when the only known Zimbabwean breeding sites were in the gorge that will be flooded when the Batoka Dam is built.

However, since the project was initiated, several more breeding sites have been found in the Zambezi Valley, and the Eastern Highlands, and in 1991 the first South African site were in a gorge that will be flooded when the Batoka Dam is built.

However, since the project was initiated, several more breeding sites have been found in the Zambezi, and the Eastern Highlands, and in 1991 the first South African site was reported.

The northern-most confirmed sites have been found in Uganda, and it is possible they also occur in the Ethiopian highlands.

Mr Hartley said the idea of getting the birds from America was to build up a viable gene pool of birds so that in the future some birds could be released into the wild.