Once broken but now healed and back in the blue skies once again. A stunning Steppe Buzzard was found in bad shape by a caring group of humans who dedicated weeks and expertise to gaining its trust, healing it, and returning it to where it belongs.
Limpopo. South Africa (30 July 2025) – A whole lot of care and just as much patience have given a stunning Steppe Buzzard a second chance at life in the wild again.
Admitted into the Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation’s (WHWF) rehabilitation centre a little over two months ago, the bird of prey was injured and unable to fly, with X-rays revealing a break in the ulna near the joint.
As these wildlife heroes do, the WHWF team got underway to treat the Buzzard, which they affectionately named “Buzz Lightyear”, doing all they could to help him heal in time to fly back to Europe for the summer.
“We strapped his wing and tube-fed him in the clinic since he refused to eat. The break healed beautifully, but the real challenge came with physiotherapy and the extensive rehabilitation needed after the bones mended. This process took weeks,” WHWF said.
And then, the day finally arrived to release Buzz Lightyear into a perfect blue sky this week.
The organisation shared a video and reported that Buzz was initially hesitant when the team first opened his crate to set him free. He seemed unsure if they were doing something new and scary as part of his rehabilitation, but once he realised what was happening, he spread those wings and took flight!
“There is magic in setting a wild thing free. There is magic – albeit delayed – in spending hours, days, weeks, getting a patient to eat, to de-stress, to flap their wings, to trust you. Some, like Buzz, never do learn to trust humans. But that doesn’t matter, because we trusted his wildness, and his strength and will to survive – after all these birds fly thousands of kilometres twice a year on instinct alone.”
Naturally, the team was overcome with emotion as they witnessed the beautiful wings they’d helped heal, doing their job so perfectly.
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UWC Students Capture and Showcase the Gem on Their DoorstepWith a glide and a few flaps, Buzz has taken to the skies again. His birthright of freedom has been restored because of a handful of caring humans.
Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation is a registered NPO and PBO and runs a fully permitted Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre in Limpopo Province.
To support their animal welfare work, visit WHWF’s donations page.
Sources: WHWF
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