Making a difference
We are always willing to assist no matter what day of the week or time of the day. Few things surpasses the feeling of being successful on a wildlife rescue mission. Whether it’s an orphaned rhino calf being captured and moved to a rescue facility, removing a cruel cable snare from a helpless animal, treating wounds or fitting a collar to an elephant or rhino for research and conservation purposes.
Together with experienced wildlife veterinarians, dedicated teams on the ground and support from reliable Non-profit organisations we are making a difference.
Article Mail & Guardian by Sheree Bega
Mass vulture poisoning in Kruger triggers historic wildlife-rescue operation
At least 123 vultures have died in the Kruger National Park after ingesting the carcass of an elephant that poachers had laced with poison.
A joint team of South African National Parks (SANParks) rangers and officials from the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) rescued 84 vultures in one of the most successful vulture rescues ever recorded.
The incident marked one of the largest mass poisoning events ever witnessed in the Kruger. A total of 116 vultures were found dead at the scene in the Mahlangeni section, the EWT and SANParks said in a joint statement on Thursday.
The EWT’s pioneering wildlife poisoning surveillance and detection system triggered an alert at 6:05am on Tuesday.
The SANParks and EWT team arrived on site by 8:20am where they made their grim find. The elephant carcass was laced with highly toxic agrochemical pesticides by poachers to harvest body parts for the illegal wildlife trade.
The initial responders — six SANParks rangers and two EWT officials — found two vultures alive roughly 500m from the carcass. They were immediately treated with atropine, activated charcoal and fluid.
Reinforcements were swiftly deployed, the organisations said. Support teams from the Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, Briner Veterinary Services and Wildscapes Veterinary Services mobilised within hours, while SANParks activated ranger and aerial support — including the Hope for Wildlife helicopter and other logistics support.
This was the first time SANParks helicopters were used in a wildlife poisoning rescue of this scale.
What followed was a coordinated, high-intensity rescue of 84 vultures, including white-backed, Cape and hooded vultures. Forty-five of the birds were transported by the EWT’s vulture ambulance, a specialised vehicle designed to stabilise poisoned birds en route to treatment facilities.
Thirty-nine vultures were airlifted by helicopter to the SANParks K9 facility in Phalaborwa for immediate monitoring. A final group was transported later that night to Moholoholo for continued intensive care.
Teams, including vets from WildScapes and Briner Veterinary Services, as well as the Moholoholo team, worked through the night to stabilise each bird and keep them alive.
A remarkable 96% survival rate was achieved, with only five of the vultures found alive dying. As of Thursday, 83 vultures are still alive and recovering.
“It’s probably one of the best survival rates ever,” said John Davies, the EWT’s Birds of Prey programme project coordinator: raptor conservation and research. “Obviously we’re not at the point to 100% say we’re out of the woods yet; you kind of want to wait maybe a few days before we can be really confident about that.
“We’ve separated the birds into batches … this afternoon we’re going to start moving them into flight enclosures — the ones that are almost showing no signs of poisoning anymore.”
This would provide a better opportunity to assess how they are doing and to ensure they are eating well before release. “So far, all the birds that arrived alive at the [Moholoholo] rehab centre are still surviving, which is fantastic.”
Martial Rappo, the manager of the Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, said the surviving vultures were being monitored around the clock, “giving them fluids and keeping them hydrated, monitoring their temperature and constantly attending to them”.
The scale of the poisoning is “staggering”, SANParks and the EWT said, noting that 123 vultures were found dead at the scene — 102 white-backed vultures, 20 Cape vultures and one Lappet-faced vulture — which are all listed as endangered or critically endangered species.
“This marks one of the largest vulture poisoning events in Southern Africa and the most extensive coordinated response effort and rescues to date,” they said, noting that more than 20 people from the conservation, veterinary and enforcement sectors played a role in the rescue and response.
Rediscovered after 33 years: Blyde Rondawels Flat Gecko Found Alive
The Blyde Rondawels Flat Gecko was last seen in 1991—until now. EWT researchers have confirmed it’s still surviving on a remote cliff in the Blyde River Canyon.
This marks the fourth ‘lost’ species we’ve found, highlighting the urgent need to protect overlooked but vital wildlife.
Thanks to Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency, Hope for Wildlife Helicopter, Anglo American Foundation and Global Affairs Canada for making this possible.
