Tumaini, the Cape Vulture’s crowd of honorary co-parents, are rallying to gear him up with a GPS tracker before he takes flight!
South Africa (08 September 2026) – Earlier this year, the OutRoamer Wildlife online community did something special. Collectively, they adopted a Cape Vulture egg through VulPro. From that day onwards, the group of co-parents has followed their little vulture through all the milestones.
OutRoamer is an online community of thousands, built around wildlife, conservation and learning more about the natural world. Tumaini quickly became one of its most followed stories.
In fact, Tumaini’s entire journey has been indexed in chapters on the group’s Facebook page.
From adoption to hatch day, his first meals, meeting mom and dad, nest chronicles, group votes for his name – Tumaini, which means ‘hope’ in Swahili, won by just one vote – and now, the lead up to his flight to freedom.
Before Tumaini swaps all the close watching for the open skies, his co-parents are trying to raise R50,000 for a GPS tracker. The device will enable VulPro to keep following him after release; where he goes, where he feeds, where he settles and, whether something along the way looks wrong.
Cape Vultures are a critically endangered species. They face threats from poisoning, collisions with power lines, and disturbance around their breeding and roosting areas. Monitoring them helps conservationists understand where those risks are greatest and where protection is needed.
If Tumaini suddenly stops moving somewhere he should not, for example, that information could send a team in his direction. And if the problem turns out to be poisoning, finding one bird could help conservationists get to others in the same area before it is too late.
That is the clever thing about following Tumaini. The tracker might belong to him, but what conservationists learn from his travels could help other vultures too.
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The OutRoamer community has raised R4650 of the R50,000 needed so far. Their new 50 for Freedom campaign is hoping to make up the rest in R50 pieces. If 907 people join in, Tumaini’s tracker is covered.
If you would like to show your support, follow this link.
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