It was a moment filled with joy and pride as 17 white-backed vultures were released back into the wild on August 12.

According to Wild and Free Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre’s Deidré Joubert, the vultures had been poisoned in Nkomazi, Mpumalanga, and were in distress.

“I received a call from the head ranger of Nkomazi Local Municipality on July 17, alerting us about vultures in distress.

“As I headed to the site, I contacted Kerri Wolter of VulPro, who guided me through the emergency procedures and essential information, especially when one does not work with vultures daily. Upon arrival, the rangers had located only three vultures. However, as soon as we began stabilising them, more started to appear. Each time we finished with one, three more were already waiting for care.

“It was a daunting yet crucial task,” says Joubert.

The team worked tirelessly to ensure that the vultures received adequate care.

“Our trusted vet, Dr Peet Venter, was there to take charge and give instructions to the volunteers. By 03:00 the next day, the team from VulPro had arrived and we all worked together seamlessly, like a well-oiled machine. VulPro then took the vultures to complete their recovery at Onderstepoort and then to their flight enclosures at their facility later the same day.”

Joubert says the hard work paid off when they witnessed the vultures flying back into the wild at an undisclosed location after receiving much-needed care.

“In a heart-warming turn of events, Wild and Free, Nkomazi Rangers and VulPro released the vultures under VulPro’s instruction back into the blue African sky on Monday. It was a testament to the power of collaboration and dedication to wildlife conservation,” says Joubert.

She adds that more training is needed so that more people can get involved in and create awareness around wildlife conservation.