Vulture Hide

Five of the eight vulture species indigenous to Southern Africa live in enclosures around the vulture hide. All of these amazing ‘clean-up crew’ are now considered threatened species. The factors threatening their survival are sadly often man-induced. Vultures now have less space to live, can get electrocuted when perching on power-lines, are poisoned indirectly by people targeting stock killers or even persecuted directly for their own body parts.
These massive raptors can soar for hours on thermals high in the sky. They form part of an extensive aerial communication network scavenging for carcasses. Its ‘first come first serve’, so a feeding frenzy often ensues between scavengers at a carcass. Ecologically these birds have an important role to play. A group of gobbling, squabbling vultures can strip a carcass within minutes before it has a chance to decay, thus preventing the spread of disease and parasite build up.
Believe it or not, vultures are actually very clean birds and travel long distances after a carcass orgy to bath. Their bald head and long neck help them to keep clean while accessing juicy morsels from right inside the carcass body cavity.

What's their story?

Phoenix  is a young captive bred Cape Vulture, born in 2006, who is to be an ambassador bird for his wild and severely threatened  counterparts. This social fellow will hopefully introduce people to the world of vultures and help to dispel some of the myths and concerns surrounding these important ‘clean-up’ species. Cape Vultures (Afrikaans – Kransaasvoel, Zulu - iNqe Yasekoloni) are endemic to southern Africa and are now considered a ’vulnerable’ species. Young Cape vultures wander great distances across the sub-continent for 5 or 6 years before they attain adulthood and return to a whitewashed cliff-face colony to nest and breed. Their numbers have severely declined due to traditional medicine trade, power-line electrocutions and poisoning from illegally laced carcasses used to try and kill carnivores that threaten small livestock.

V inny and Clifford are our White-backed Vultures (Afrikaans -  Witrugaasvoel, Zulu - iNqe Elimhlophe Emhlane). Vinny came from the Pongola region and was spotted by a farmer on the ground. The man then realized that something was wrong when he saw him at the same place nearly a week later! Vinny had been electrocuted on a power-line and his wings looked like ‘biltong’ when he reached the Sanctuary. After much careful attention and surgical repair he can hold his wings symmetrically, but sadly is only ¾’s flighted. Clifford also hit a powerline and wasn’t so lucky; his broken wing was necrotic and had to be amputated. This smaller, also ‘vulnerable’ species is feisty by nature and can hold its own against the bigger Cape Vultures. Vultures provide an invaluable clean up service to people. Their scavenging nature rids our veld of carcasses and prevents the spread of disease. They glide at speeds of 58 to 65 km per hour and when diving down to a carcass they can reach a speed of 120 km per hour.

H arold and Dulcy, the Hooded Vultures (Afrikaans- Monnikaasvoel, Scientific name - Necrosyrtes monachus) came from the Limpopo province, both with broken wings. These small, shy vultures are rarely seen outside of reserves in southern Africa, but further north they are more plentiful and are often associated with people. Although not the first to arrive at carcasses, they are often first to tuck in until displaced by the larger species. They then return afterwards and, using their long slender beaks, access the meat scraps from carcass crevices that the bigger scavengers miss.

The Palmnut Vultures (Afrikaans - Witaasvoel, Scientific name -  Gypohierax angolensis) were brought in from Tanzania enroute to the United States. The was a problem with their accompanying paperwork so they couldn't be transported out of Africa and were acquired by the Natal Zoological Gardens, to whom they belong. In the wild the lives of these curious, seagull-like species centre around their favourite diet of palm nuts from groves of Oil or Rafia palms. Here they nest and feed primarily on the husks of the palm fruit. This vegetarian diet they supplement with crabs, fish and a variety of other scavenged food.

T he White-headed Vultures (Afrikaans name – Witkopaasvoel, Scientific name -  Trigonoceps occipitalis) were brought in from Tanzania in the same as the above Palmnut Vultures. The Sanctuary cares for them for the Natal Zoological Gardens. In September 2008 one female laid an egg - much to our great excitement, as there are fewer than 20 pairs of this ‘vulnerable’ species resident in KwaZulu-Natal. If you could call a vulture ‘pretty’, then this species could be considered the prettiest! They are probably the most solitary of vultures, nesting at the very top of trees. Although often the first vultures to arrive at a carcass, they are not messy feeders and there is evidence that they sometimes catch their own prey.

Vulture Beliefs in African Culture

In Hausaland, it is said that the Hooded Vulture lays two eggs, one of which hatches into a fly.

Xhosa boys dread the Cape vulture, believing that it can fight a man.

Other tribes refer to the Lappet-faced vulture as 'chief' and the White-necked raven as his spy searching for carcasses. If griffon vultures arrive first at a carcass then they must respectfully await the arrival of the Lappet chief. (No doubt to physically tear open the carcass with his massive beak).

The Zulu kings Dingaan and Shaka got rid of people after killing them by throwing them to the vultures, which were then refered to as Shaka's birds - izinyoni zikaShaka.