Second Oribi vulture dies
Power lines have claimed the lives of two of the five birds in the study.
THE electrocution of a Cape vulture, one of the five young vultures from the Oribi colony that were fitted with radio transmitters early last year, has highlighted the need for safer, more bird-friendly power lines. This latest casualty, named ‘Nina’ after one of the researchers, is the second of these vultures to succumb to this man-made threat.
“The statistics are scary. It means, of the five birds with transmitters, we have lost 40 percent through electrocution, within the first year of the study,” said Oribi farmer Mike Neethling who operates a vulture restaurant for the colony.
He is facilitating the vulture research project, which is being conducted by a team of experts from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Vulpro and the Endangered Wildlife Trust. Postdoctorate fellow, Dr Dana Berens from Marburg University in Germany, is in charge of the study .
Last month, when her radio transmitter indicated that ‘Nina’ had stopped moving, Mike went to investigate. He was saddened to find her remains under an Eskom pole next to the R56, about 15kms north of Ixopo.
He noted that, in both the electrocuted vultures’ cases, the poles holding the power lines responsible for their deaths were of the same design. They were wooden poles with cross beams and the wires were mounted above these cross beams.
“This design is an absolute death trap for a large bird. It’s not possible for it to land on the cross pole without touching a live wire. The frightening thing is that these poles are being erected rapidly in the rural areas to electrify the outlying villages. What horrifies me is that the effort that has been put into making the reticulation system vulture-safe has met with so little success,” he said.
After studying available vulture data, Mike has noted that steel pylons seemed to be a safer option.”Many times we have recorded them being used for roosting, with no ill effects, so it would seem that the effort has been focused here with some degree of success,” he said. He has asked those involved in the study to pass this information on to the authorities.
