 RESCUE AND RELEASE -
BEARDED VULTURE
The 5th of September saw the successful release of a Bearded Vulture back into the
wild. Bernard, as he is affectionately called, was rescued in June 2006 from the jaws of a gin
trap. Since then he has been treated and rehabilitated through the efforts of raptor expert Ben
Hoffman from Raptor Rescue and vet Oliver Tatham from the Hilton Veternary Clinic. Together with
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Ecologist, Sonja Kruger, who has been liasing with Beadred Vulture experts in
Europe, the team deemed him fit for release this week and decided to release him in the Swartberg
area, where he was initially caught.
In order to obtain better information on this species, it was decided to mark Bernard with wing
tags and to fit him with a tracking device. The device was purchased with funds made available by
Sasol for vulture monitoring and was supplied and fitted by Kerri Wolter of the De Wildt Vulture
Unit. The device uses cell phone technology to download GPS coordinates of the bird’s location
which are then automatically plotted on a web-based map. Bernard is the first Bearded Vulture in
Africa to be marked using wing tags and to be fitted with a tracking device of this kind. Ezemevlo
KZN Wildlife scientists are hopeful that he will provide valuable information that will assist in
saving the species! Scientists estimate that the entire southern African population is currently as
low as 400 birds and is declining at a rate of 2% per year.
What can you do?
The success of this marking programme relies on members of the public to report sightings of
tagged birds! If you are visiting the Drakensberg or Lesotho, keep your eyes peeled for wing tags
which are yellow with a unique black alphanumeric code and have been fixed to the upper wing near
the shoulder of the bird. Please report your sightings at www.kznwildlife.com or
skruger@kznwildlife.com.
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