Maliba Mountain Lodge, with the help of vulture specialists Sonja Kruger and Andre Botha from KZN Wildlife and the Endangered Wildlife Trust, have started a vulture feeding site in the Ts’ehlanyane National Park, with the aim to attract the rare Bearded and Cape vultures for protection and research. In the past vultures have been seen as vermin- spreading disease and killing livestock and have thus been killed, virtually driving them to the brink of extinction.
Vultures form an important ecological component of our natural environment, cleaning up dead carcasses and decreasing the spread of some diseases and therefore need to be protected. The main cause of the demise of this important raptor group is a declining food source, although other issues such as loss of foraging areas, electrocution by electricity pylons, and inadvertent poisoning also have a strong negative influence on their numbers.
A carcass has been placed at a carefully chosen site within the park, to provide a safe area for these birds to feed. Hopefully, in time, guests at Maliba as well as the surrounding communities will be able to view these special and unique birds on a regular basis.
Although it is still early days, we hope that the vulture restaurant becomes a firm favourite among both the raptors in the area and guests alike. Let’s hold thumbs!
Why a vulture restaurant?
- A vulture restaurant supplements the bird’s natural food supplies in an undisturbed area with safe meat and offal. Bones can be “chipped” to ensure calcium and mineral availability.
- Using restaurants farmers contribute to conservation efforts with a practical, economical and hygienic carcass disposal method.
- Monitoring, recording of ringed and tagged birds and other scientific studies are facilitated at vulture restaurants.
- At a viewing hide tourists are given fascinating observation and photographic opportunities.
What do you think of environmental projects like this? Let us know