The Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Limpopo has released 81 vultures successfully rehabilitated following a mass poisoning incident in the Kruger National Park.
The incident saw more than 200 vultures poisoned from a laced elephant carcass in the Mahlangeni Section of the Kruger National Park. A total of 116 vultures were killed in the incident, and the remainder were taken to Moholoholo for treatment and rehabilitation, supported by SANParks and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT).
“The first 48 hours are the most critical. The birds are checked every two to three hours, which is time-consuming,” said John Davies, EWT Birds of Prey Programme Manager.
Within a week, the vultures were moved into enclosures in preparation for their release back into the wild. By the end of May, all the vultures were released back into the wild.
According to EWT, 27 vultures were fitted with trackers before their release. They have reported that the tracked birds are doing well.
“It is little things like that that matter to us at the end of the day. The start of the breeding season is a very risky time. Some of the vultures haven’t laid eggs but it is on that cusp. May is very much the beginning of their breeding season so a poisoning event such as this is catastrophic,” said Davies.
See videos of the release below:
