84 vultures have been rescued from a devastating case of poisoning in the Kruger National Park thanks to joint team efforts:
Kruger National Park, South Africa (08 May 2025) — Thanks to an incredible effort, 84 vultures have been rescued from a devastating case of poisoning in the Kruger National Park’s Mahlangeni Section.
The joint teamwork of SANParks rangers and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) officials saw the birds saved within hours after the EWT’s pioneering wildlife poisoning surveillance and detection system.
The alert, triggered at 06:05 am on 6 May flagged suspicious activity in a remote section of the park, and by 08:20, the teams arrived on site.
What they arrived to was a grim and heartbreaking scene—a mass poisoning event that impacted hundreds of vultures. The poisoning was the result of an elephant carcass laced with highly toxic agrochemical pesticides—poison laid by poachers to harvest body parts for the illegal wildlife trade.
As SANParks and the EWT stated in a joint statement, the incident is one of the largest seen in the park. 116 Vultures were found dead at the scene.
But, all was not lost thanks to the SANParks and EWT boots on the ground. They quickly treated birds that were sick but still alive with emergency vulture first aid (atropine, activated charcoal, and fluid therapy) whilst waiting for reinforcements.
Support teams came from the Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, Briner Veterinary Services and Wildscapes Veterinary Services. SANParks also activated ranger and aerial support that included the Hope for Wildlife helicopter. This was the first time that SANParks’ choppers were used formally in a wildlife poisoning rescue at such a scale.
Ultimately, 84 vultures (White-backed, Cape and Hooded) were rescued alive. 45 were transported by the EWT’s vulture ambulance while 39 more were airlifted to the SANParks K9 facility in Phalaborwa for immediate monitoring. The final group of vulture survivors were transported to Moholoholo later that evening.
The Growing Threat of Poison Poaching
Shares SANParks and the EWT:
“This horrific incident is part of a broader crisis unfolding across southern Africa: the escalating use of poisons in wildlife poaching. Poachers increasingly using agricultural toxins to target high-value species—not just vultures, but also lions, whose body parts are in growing demand for traditional medicine or muthi.
“This incident is a setback to the vulture population in the Greater Kruger Landscape which is trying to recover from similar incidents in the past. SANParks is collaborating with various agencies and institutions to address the current increase in particularly poisoning incidents.
“The latest operation highlights the importance of partnerships in addressing this problem. The recovery and treatment of the live vultures would not have been possible if such partnerships were not in place.We commend every individual who responded to this tragedy. Their courage, skill, and relentless commitment transformed a potential extinction-level event into one of the most successful vulture rescues ever recorded. The operation saw helicopters making multiple trips between the incident site and Phalaborwa throughout the day to assist with the movement of the vultures.”
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