ABOUT THE BIRDS

Their Mountain Home

Although once occurring down the mountainous spine of Africa, the last remnant group of this magnificent bird now lives high up in the Maloti-Drakensberg mountains that serrate the border between South Africa and Lesotho. Over the past few decades this wild population has declined by at least 30%, until it is estimated that less than 350 birds remain. Our subspecies of Bearded vulture is genetically distinct and geographically isolated and therefore requires specific management and protection on its own merit and in its isolation to guard against extinction.

The Bearded vulture is the flagship species of this mountain range, a transnational site composed of formally protected areas in both South Africa and Lesotho. It is recognised as a RAMSAR site, Important Bird Area, and UNESCO World Heritage Site. This unique mountainous landscape is a high montane grassland with no forestation, and the site’s diversity protects more than 250 endemic plant species and other endangered animal species such as the Cape vulture and Maloti minnow. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and the Lesotho Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Culture are responsible for the management of their respective parks, while surrounding the protected areas are various tribal authorities, private landowners and farmers. As the Bearded Vulture Breeding Programme, we work alongside these organisations and with the people living in this mountainous region are subsistence farmers with few employment opportunities sometimes threatening traditional beliefs

Nestflix

Watch live footage from a Bearded Vulture nest in the Drakensberg mountains of South Africa- Nestflix on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/BV-NESTFLIX

Basic Biology

Bearded vultures (Gypaetus barbatus meridonalis) arelarge and highly specialized birds of prey, unique in both behaviour and adaptation. Looking more like eagles than vultures they have a distinctive black ‘highwayman’ mask and beard made up of stiff, hair-like feathers under their chin, from which they get their name.

. They live in the extreme habitat of high-altitude mountain cliffs and breed just only once a year in winter in potholes weathered by wind, rain and time. Breeding pairs normally lay two eggs, but only ever raise a single chick.  In this behaviour called cainism, (named from the Old Testament story of Cain and Abel), the older sibling out-competes the younger one on the nest platform within a couple of days of hatching.

Their lifestyle is completely non-invasive to humans, as they are the only bird in the world to live on the unlikely diet of bones. These bones are swallowed whole or, if too large, are dropped from the air onto flat, rock surfaces to smash open and access the nutritious marrow within.

Another fascinating behaviour of this big, beautiful bird is that they ‘mud bath’. This behaviour stains the colour of their breast feathers to an iron-oxide rich ochre colour and even turns their large white eggs golden

Threats

Flying guardian over a world that seems suspended half-way between heaven and earth, Bearded Vultures soar for hours looking for this favourite food. Unfortunately, multiple factors threaten them. They collide with, or get electrocuted by, powerlines. They are very susceptible to poisoning; both from lead and when mistakenly ingesting poisoned bait that is put out by farmers for jackal control. Their body parts are also used in the traditional medicine (muthi) industry. The looming threat of proposed wind farm turbines in the high mountain areas have proved lethal to flying birds utilizing the same wind corridors.

Aviculture

The broad definition of Avi-cul-ture is the practice of keeping and breeding of wild birds (class Aves) in captivity (ex-situ) using controlled conditions for predetermined purpose. This could be as simple as a hobby, or for business, research or even more formal conservation purposes. Our aviculture requirement is to create a genetic reserve and foundation group of breeding birds, preserving the species against the risk of habitat destruction and natural disaster. The IUCN advise that when a threatened species drops below 1000 in number, captive breeding should be initiated. There are thought to be less than 350 bearded vultures remaining in the wild.

Avicultural practices also encourage conservation, public awareness about avian species and provides base research on avian behaviour.

Simulation of natural conditions I, therefore, a necessary goal, allowing the study of aspects of mating and breeding behaviour that may not be easily observed in the wild. As a result of such studies, a number of species, rare or endangered in the wild, have been kept from extinction by captive breeding. The Californian Condor in North America and the European Bearded Vulture are two such vulture examples

(LINKS TO LAZOO AND VCF WEBSITES)

At present Bred 4 the Wild is the only custodian worldwide of this sub-species. Another ‘first’ is that we incorporate an essential combination of three established management principles, nowhere globally used in combination. Using….

1 Puppet Feeding                2 Restricted Social Raising                3 Visual exposure to a Surrogate Adult

we seek to establish a founder group of viable breeding stock without parent birds!

These practices have all been implemented due to the circumstances facing the project, having no specimens in captivity to begin breeding or raise any chicks. Strict harvesting procedure has allowed us to acquire a foundation population that we hope will bring new life to the species. While carefully caring for each chick, it is imperative that minimum human interaction is maintained to prevent imprinting on humans. This essential understanding that they are Bearded Vultures and not humans is imperative for them to later breed successfully.

A masterfully made puppet has been used from behind screens as an interface between hand-raisers  and the birds primarily to feed young chicks. We do our best to keep chicks close to so they can hear and see each other but cannot reach and hurt one another. Once they can thermoregulate they graduate to living in a sheltered and carefully constructed nest-pothole in a rearing enclosure where they once again can see each other but now also an adult bird through safety barriers. This visual surrogate continues to teach the chicks what they are while being separated physically from them. When the chicks fledge and learn to use their wings they can then interact all together and further learn from the surrogate.