Organisation goes out on a wing for vulture
Out of a tree in the Olifants River Private Game Reserve, an African white-backed vulture in distress fell down into helping hands. The vulture rehabilitation organisation, VulPro, had received news from the reserve of this critically endangered vulture in distress.
Two days prior to this rescue operation, Kerri Wolter, founder of the vulture rehabilitation organisation, VulPro, had received news from the reserve of this critically endangered vulture, followed by a photo of the bird’s exact predicament the following day; it had somehow got a narrow loop of PVC piping stuck around its head, and due to this, was not able to close its beak.
Wolter explained how a vulture would be captured under normal circumstances.
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“To catch them, we would usually bait them with food on the ground. Its leg will then get caught in a noose (that does not harm the vulture) and we would be able to approach and catch it.”
Due to the way this PVC ring had been stuck on the bird, though, it could not eat and therefore could not be caught using the above method.
The second option, said Wolter, was to use a canon net, but for this to work, the vulture needed to be on the ground, which it was not.
“The next best thing was darting. This has never been done before due to the risks involved.”
The dosage could be wrong or the bird could fly off and disappear from sight, and due to the drugs, collapse in an unsafe environment, but the team had no choice.
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“We knew the risk, but we had enough eyes to ensure the bird’s safety. It was darted from about 15 to 20 metres away; it flew for about 80 metres and perched in a tree, and then collapsed because of the drugs.
“Someone was about to climb the tree when the bird started falling through the branches, but Olifants’ Errol Parkin was right there to catch it in his arms. Dr Ben Muller administered the antidote immediately.”
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One bit of good news was that the PVC had broken off somewhere among the branches on the bird’s way down. The damage caused to the vulture is another story.
“The pipe was keeping its beak open and in the process cut off blood flow to the tip of its tongue. It is still very swollen and blackened; we are worried it might fall off.
“I estimate the bird to have been like this for at least a week. This is not the type of damage you see from one or two days.”
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The vulture is currently in VulPro’s conservation and rehabilitation centre in Hartebeespoort, where its condition is being monitored and it is receiving specialist care and treatment.
“We will hopefully be able to release it back into the reserve in a few weeks,” said Wolter.
