The EWT Birds of Prey Programme have designed and successfully used the Vulture Ambulance, saving eight vultures found at a mass poisoning site in June.
South Africa (05 July 2023) – The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) has a specialised “Vulture Ambulance” which helps them effectively save vultures that have been poisoned. This innovative mobile medical response unit is changing how they respond to mass poisonings.
Recently they celebrated the release of six White-backed Vultures, one Lappet-faced Vulture, and one Hooded Vulture that survived a mass poisoning incident in June.
At 14:50, on the 16th of June 2023, the EWT Birds of Prey Programme Lowveld team, responded to the tragic call that there had been a wildlife poisoning incident on a reserve in the Greater Kruger area. John Davies and Dr Lindy Thomson were on the road within ten minutes of the call and arrived at the reserve just as the sun was setting.
The pair found two White-backed Vultures on the brink of death and one that had already succumbed to poisoning. They rushed the two birds to Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre near Hoedspruit, arriving later that night.
The very next morning they were on the ground again, searching the area for more vultures. The poisoning site was deep within the bush so it took a great deal to save each bird. Dr Joel Alves and the EWT’s John Davies treated each bird where they were found, then a team member carried the birds 3 km to where the Vulture Ambulance was parked.
“Determined that there were more lives to save, John and Lindy returned with the ambulance at 4 am the following day and, joined by SANParks rangers, Honorary Rangers, and Dr Joel Alves and Isabella Grünberger from WildScapes Veterinary and Conservation Services, they scoured the area for six hours, discovering and bringing more survivors back to the ambulance for treatment as they were found.”
All the birds were transported to Moholoholo for treatment, where eight survived and were then rehabilitated and released back into the wild on the 1st of July 2023.
“The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTCA), which includes the Kruger National Park and surrounding reserves, forms a vulture-rich landscape in which these birds play a critical role. It is also a high-risk area for wildlife poisoning, with at least 796 vultures across five threatened species killed in the area since January 2019.
In the GLTCA, vultures are often poisoned and harvested for their body parts for use in traditional medicine. They also regularly fall as the unintended victims for poisons left out for other wildlife such as lions, hyaenas and leopards, which are also targeted and slaughtered for their body parts, or because they threaten local livestock.”
The devastating part for the entire team, was that the poison site was so extensive that so much life was also lost. A total of 45 vultures, a Bateleur Eagle, a lion, and three lion cubs did not survive the poisoning.
The surviving birds have been fitted with leg rings and solar-powered GPS-tracking units that will allow the EWT to monitor their movements and respond to any indication of unusual behaviours, such as immobility, for longer than normal periods.
Innovating for change and saving lives!
Dr Gareth Tate, the manager of the EWT Birds of Prey Programme, was the brains behind the specially designed Vulture Ambulance. The ambulance is contributing to successful rescues due to the team being able to do on-site treatment and provide safe transport for the birds, to local facilities.
Each of the Lowveld team always carries a poisoning response kit in their backpacks too, which allows them to perform basic treatments on-site, to give poisoned vultures a fighting chance until a vet can attend to them.
“Poisoning events are increasingly happening in vast and often inaccessible areas over a day’s drive from rehabilitation centres. Arriving at the scene of a poisoning incident, experienced responders must administer first aid immediately and stabilise surviving birds.
The birds then need a cool, quiet place to rest during the trip to the rehabilitation centre, which can be well over eight hours’ travel from the poisoning sites. In some cases, teams must overnight in the field, where the trailer becomes even more vital – allowing them to monitor the condition of vultures closely and keep them stable.
The EWT’s Vulture Ambulance can transport up to 20 birds in modular, easy-to-remove crates that can be accessed without disturbing other resting birds. The trailer includes a mobile clinic, first aid station, water, fuel, and equipment needed to rapidly and successfully rescue, stabilise, treat, and transport poisoned survivors. This has already proven to significantly increase the number of birds that survive these catastrophic events.”
The EWT’s Vulture Ambulance is strategically stationed within a high-poisoning-risk area. At present, there is only one unit, however, the team hopes to develop more units which can be placed in key locations around Southern Africa.
The team welcome donations in support of building more of these innovative and life-saving Vulture Ambulances. You can donate and find out more about them via the website here.