Cape Vulture found poisoned on farm near Hoedspruit
An adult female Cape Vulture was found dead on a farm just outside Hoedspruit.
An adult female Cape Vulture was found dead on a farm just outside Hoedspruit.
Farmer Dave Holliday said the bird was found on Sunday morning.
According to Holliday, the bird was visibly poisoned. ‘We took the bird to Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre where Brian Jones confirmed that she had been poisoned, ‘said Holliday.
‘We feel this could be the tip of the iceberg as more birds could have been targeted and we will conduct a search as well of the area, ‘he said.
According to Holliday, André Botha, manager of the Birds of Prey Programme (BoPP) at the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), would be conducting an aerial search on Tuesday over the area.
Holliday said the female could also have had a nest as she was at the age of breeding.
Founder of Moholoholo Rehab Centre, Brian Jones confirmed he had assessed the bird.
‘The bird was in good physical condition and it was visibly clear it had been poisoned’, he said.
Jones said he believed the vultures were being targeted by poachers in the area.
‘The area which the bird was found has been increasingly targeted by poachers. We even found leopards in snares there. They have targeted the birds so they don’t point out to the rangers where a rhino or an elephant has been shot,’ said Jones.
Jones said an incident had occurred earlier in May in the same vicinity, when a total of 65 vultures of various ages as well as a single adult tawny eagle were found dead from poisoning .
SANparks reported in the Vlakteplaas area in the Kruger National Park last month, rangers found a carcass of an elephant with dead animals scattered around it.
The Lowvelder had reported that various scavengers had descended on the carcass and as a result were poisoned while the face, feet and back skin of one lion had been removed, which led to suspicions it might have been for muti.
Birds that were killed included 46 African white-backed vultures as well as one sub-adult bateleur.
Park spokesperson William Mabasa confirmed it was not the first incident of poisoning in the park and that other cases had been reported on the boundaries of the Kruger.
