Celebrating International Vulture Awareness Day

By Dr Lindy Thompson 

In the early morning of Saturday, 7 September, the gate to Hoedspruit’s Cape Vulture Conservancy slid open, and vehicles full of schoolchildren began pouring in. Their teacher accompanied each group, and after registering, everyone embarked on a hike through the Conservancy’s rugged grounds. The children got to experience the beauty of the winter bushveld under the looming presence of the impressive Drakensberg Mountains, where breeding Cape Vultures perched high on the cliffs, attending to their nests. 

The first Saturday of September each year is International Vulture Awareness Day, and this year, the children got to visit the Cape Vulture Conservancy to celebrate vultures. International Vulture Awareness Day is marked worldwide, with hundreds of organisations conducting vulture counts and awareness events. The aim is to remind everyone of the vital role vultures play in cleaning up carcasses and that vultures are part of our natural heritage and need to be protected. 

After their hike, as wild Cape Vultures soared in the skies above them, the 260 schoolchildren and 40 other guests were treated to talks about vultures by John Davies of the Endangered Wildlife Trust and Frikkie Kotze, the Conservancy’s manager. The children were provided with lunch and colouring books. They also viewed an exhibition on the threats vultures face provided by the Moholoholo Wildlife and Rehabilitation Centre. 

Local conservation organisations, including Lyle Wiggins from the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET), were also present. Stalls were set up where guests could interact with staff from Animal Relief for Rural Communities (ARRC), K2C, and Daktari. The guests also enjoyed an educational and entertaining snake demonstration from the Hoedspruit Reptile Centre. 

In the late afternoon, with full tummies, the children and other guests left the Conservancy happy and content, knowing that the Cape Vulture Conservancy team continues to protect the breeding cliffs of these special birds. It was a day these young minds will not forget, and we hope that after all this fun, a few more advocates for vultures will emerge.