Top dining spots for uMkhuze vultures
TWO vulture restaurants in the uMkhuze section of the Isimangaliso Wetlands Park are proving to be a highlight for visitors, while also protecting the vulture species which is declining globally.
Isimangaliso communication and PR manager, Bheki Manzini, said the vulture restaurants provided food for vultures as part of a scavenger support programme.
“It is a controlled feeding mechanism which helps ensure our vultures don’t eat poisoned carcasses,” he said.
There are six species of vulture visiting uMkhuze: the white-backed, the Cape, lappet-faced, white-headed and the hooded vulture, with an occasional sighting of the Palmnut vulture.
Manzini said there had been a decline in population numbers worldwide, including KwaZuluNatal, with threats including habitat destruction, food distribution and availability, as well as incidental or intentional poisoning.
“This last threat is frequently the result of misguided beliefs about vulture parts in traditional medicine, or they may be poisoned by a carcass laid out for jackals or other predators. The end result is the same, a drastic decline in population,” he said, adding that Isimangaliso’s objective is aimed at restoring population sizes.
Each vulture species had set objectives that Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife aimed to achieve over a relatively short term.
These include restoring and maintaining populations on state, private and communal land, for example 20 pairs of lappet-faced vulture; achieving reproductive success rate of 50% and restricting illegal deaths.
Nests are being monitored by aerial surveys, as well as incidental sightings and recording by camera.
Duncan Pritchard, director of ETC-Africa, which specialises in environmental and carbon footprint management and tourism route development, said: “Almost all SA vulture species without exception are seeing ongoing population declines. Four of our nine species of vulture are now considered critically endangered. This is mostly because of deliberate or accidental poisoning by farmers and secondary poisoning from eating carcasses that contain diclofenac, a veterinary drug that is not great for birds.
“Habitat loss is another big driver and the ‘muthi’ trade is also problematic. Poachers also deliberately kill vultures because their presence ‘notifies’ conservation authorities of a kill,” said Pritchard.
He added that avitourism and in turn, bird guiding, remained a key source of income for many bird guides across South Africa, while the number of species, some of which are endemic to SA, provide a strong attraction for international birders.