Feburary 1, 2011
Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, Limpopo province, South Africa
One of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Quarters for Conservation projects for the second year now is Cape Vulture Conservation in Africa. So far this year (since May 2010), we have raised enough funds to purchase a GPS tracking device to fit to a Cape vulture to monitor its movements across South Africa. We decided to fit our device on an adult female Cape vulture at Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. She was found by a farmer in the Limpopo province on 28 December 2010. She had been poisoned. The staff at Moholoholo nursed her back to health and was ready to release her, but Brian Jones and Kerri Wolter wanted to fit her with a tracking device since more data on Cape vulture movements near Kruger National Park is needed.
“Our” vulture can be tracked online on Google Earth using a password. I will be posting maps of her travels on Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s blog regularly, so stay tuned!
The tracking device will help provide researchers with vital information regarding the vultures’ foraging habits from the colony near Kruger. Once they know where the birds roam during the day, they can work to protect them. There may be a need for more vulture restaurants in the region, or greater education within the local farming communities, or certain power lines that need mitigation methods applied. We learn from the birds what still needs to be done.
It’s very fulfilling and exciting to know that Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is helping contribute to science and it is all because of YOU! Your votes for vultures are helping provide valuable information and saving a species! Keep the votes coming! Thank you!
February 11, 2011
The tracking device is working and we have our first update. She is now located 250 miles W of the release site- nearly in Botswana!! Too cool!
She was released on February 2, 2011 and the "X" marks where she is as of today.
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