A familiar face greets the Endangered Wildlife Trust team during field monitoring for vulture threats

The Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Lowveld Birds of Prey team had a remarkable encounter in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve recently. During their fieldwork, they trapped a stunning adult Cape Vulture they had previously rescued, an event made even more special given the low probability of re-trapping a ringed and GPS-tracked bird. This vulture, part of the Cape Vulture colony on the cliffs of Manoutsa west of Hoedspruit, which comprises approximately 760 breeding pairs, reconnected with the team in a significant way.

In collaboration with the University of Pretoria, the EWT team was supporting a PhD student investigating various aspects of vulture health. The student’s research focuses on diseases affecting vultures, such as Avian Influenza, Newcastle Disease, West Nile Virus, ectoparasites, haemoparasites, and cloacal microbiomes. This study is crucial as African vulture populations are rapidly declining, and smaller population sizes increase the threat of disease, a relatively understudied danger.

During this fieldwork, EWT Birds of Prey field worker Kyle Walker spotted a ring on a Cape Vulture and immediately recognized it as one of their tracked birds, named Dr Mike after the veterinarian who saved its life. Dr Mike was discovered in late 2021 at Lissataba Nature Reserve with a broken wing from a powerline collision. Thanks to Murray and Robin Reid, who managed the property, the bird was rushed to White River Animal Hospital for emergency surgery. Following months of rehabilitation at the Dullstroom Birds of Prey Centre, Dr Mike was ringed, fitted with a tracking unit, and released back into the wild on February 2, 2022.

Since his release, Dr Mike has travelled an astonishing distance of over 94,000 km, averaging 110 km a day, highlighting the vast ranges these birds cover and the space they need to thrive. Our tracking data shows he is now breeding on the Manoutsa cliffs, marking a true conservation success story.

Dr Mike’s story underscores the importance of collaboration between protected area management and conservation organizations like the EWT, alongside the invaluable rehabilitation centres in the Lowveld. Every bird counts, and without intervention, this vulture would have perished. The state-of-the-art GPS tracker fitted to Dr Mike allows us to monitor his behavior and identify threats as he soars through the African skies. It is incredible to see the data from his tracking unit as he breeds again on the cliffs of Manoutsa.

To learn more about Dr Mike’s story, visit: Cape Vulture (ewt.org.za)

Contact Tammy Baker [email protected] to support our work