One of the two vulture hides in the Drakensberg is located in the Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve in the middle berg section of the Maloti-Drakensberg mountains. The hide was opened in 1967 and built to create a greater interest in vultures in response to their declining numbers. The hide is pre-booked for the day at the Giant’s Castle camp and only accessible by 4×4 vehicle.

“The best adventures are the ones that make your heart race and your soul sing.” ~ Jon Miksis

We usually get up to the hide by 6h30, at the latest, in winter as the sun only falls across the shelf in front of the hide by around 7h30. You are given a bucket of precut bones by the Giant’s Castle camp staff for the day you have booked the hide. Getting into the hide early gives us time to get organised and get our cameras ready for a day that awaits us.

“Jobs fill your pockets, but adventures fill your soul.” ~ Jaime Lyn

The raptors we have seen from the hide include Bearded vultures, Cape Griffon vultures, Jackal buzzards, Lanner falcons, Rock kestrels and Yellow-billed kites. I have never seen the Verreaux Eagles in all the times I have been to the hide, but I live in hope. The bones attract a variety of non-raptors which feed on the fat and marrow on the bones. The White-necked ravens and Red-winged starlings are particularly partial to the fat on the bones. There is also a Black-backed jackal family that lives in the crevices a few hundred metres from the feeding shelf in front of the hide. The jackals are also fond of the pickings.

With all the competition for the bones from non-raptors, we put out the bones strategically, both in terms of time and position. The vultures tend to only land at the south-western end of the shelf which is about 50 metres away from the hide. The shelf has a cliff edge that falls away into the Bushman’s river valley.

One day we were fortunate enough to be visited by both the Bearded and Cape vultures. My previous post described our Bearded vulture sightings and this post is focussed on the Cape vultures which are also called Cape Griffon vultures. Both the Bearded and Cape vultures are categorised as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). According to Project Vulture, the southern African population of Cape vultures is listed at 2 900 breeding pairs, of which approximately 1 450 reside in the Maloti-Drakensberg mountains- about 20% of the population. (Source: https://birding.krugerpark.co.za/birding-in-kruger-raptor-vultures.html)

With all the aerial activity along the Bushman’s river valley, the juvenile Cape vulture in the next image landed on the rock ledge at the far end of the feeding shelf but was keeping an eye out for other raptors in the sky above.

The Cape vulture is the second largest vulture in southern Africa after the Lappet-faced vulture. The adult has a wingspan of up to 260 centimetres. It stands around 106 centimetres tall and can weigh between seven and 11 kilograms. There is a slight size difference between the male and female with female being larger but in all other aspects the male and female look the alike. The brownish colour plumage, red skin on the neck and dark eyes are characteristic of a fledged juvenile Cape vulture.

The Cape vulture is an old world vulture, meaning it comes from the Africa, Asia and Europe region while the new world birds are found in the Americas. This vulture is endemic to southern Africa and breeds in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana and Mozambique. The majority of (excluding the Palm-nut and Bearded) Old World Vultures have featherless faces with bald or almost bald heads and necks. Old World vultures find carcasses exclusively by sight and do not have a well developed sense of smell. They do have vocal chords so vocalise by mainly hissing and cackling at each other around a carcass.

The Cape vulture is often confused with the White-backed vulture but the Cape vulture is much larger and much lighter in colour being mostly whitish grey above flecked with brown. There are individuals that look mainly brown but this is probably due to dust bathing though generally the brown plumage is a indication of a fledged juvenile. The outer black primary feathers of the wing, the 12 tail feathers (in other species of this genus there are 14) and the inner dark brown secondary feathers contrast sharply with the lighter colour of the rest of the body, both above and below.

The blue grey head and neck are sparsely covered with white down but at the base of the neck there are a few rows of longer feathers forming a grey-buff collar. The eyes are pale yellowish-amber, and the bill is black. Juveniles and immatures are generally darker and more streaked, with dark brown eyes and neck skin has a reddish colour.

The Cape vulture has passive soaring wings. This type of wing has a long wingspan and is relatively broad. Wing dimensions are of biological interest for several reasons. They can be used to predict and understand the habitat selection and hunting methods of the bird.

The passive soaring wing type has a low aspect ratio meaning its wingspan relative to the width of the wing is comparatively low which is ideal for soaring. The large wingspan enables the Cape vulture to glide for long distances catching thermals and riding updrafts as it flies. Long wings are better for gliding, but harder to flap quickly so are not good for quick acceleration. In the case of the Cape vulture in the Drakensberg, the large wingspan dictates its preference for roosting and nesting on cliff ledges. The vulture can just dive off the cliff to get airborne as minimal flapping is required. Like the Bearded, the Cape vulture makes use of the cliff and mountain updrafts to fly along the cliffs and the length and breath of the Bushman’s river valley which varies around two kilometres wide. Flapping is energy intensive so being able to soar gives these vultures an extended foraging range which can be up to 150 kilometres.

The first five or six long primary wing feathers spread out, creating “slots” which reduce wingtip turbulence and so reduce drag. The primary wing feathers provide control and thrust while the secondaries provide most of the lift on the wing.

Wing loading is another important way of assessing how (and how well) a bird flies. Wing loading is the ratio of wing area to weight. The relatively low wing loading of the Cape vulture dictates its soaring duration and its manoeuvrability at slow speeds. The slowing flight speeds gives the vulture more time to scan the ground for carcasses. The vultures also watch each other carefully while flying to get an indication of whether there is food on the ground. A quickly descending vulture invariably creates a chain reaction and others seem to come from nowhere as they are usually much higher up so are not easily seen.

“Every thread you discover in the local web of life leads beyond your place to life elsewhere.” ~ Scott Sanders

It is interesting to see this Cape vulture landing with full flare of its wings and tail feathers which act as an airbrake. The slotted primary wing feathers are spread to enhance control at lower air speeds and even the alula wing feather is extended. The alula is the freely moving first digit, a bird’s “thumb”, which typically has three to five small flight feathers. In normal flight, the alula is held flush against the wing. When flying at slow speeds or landing, the bird moves its alula slightly upwards and forward, which creates a small slot on the wing’s leading edge which adds lift at slower airspeeds.

Immediately after landing this adult Cape vulture walked over to the edge of the rock shelf and peered over into the valley below possibly to see if it was going to have any immediate competition in the feeding area by another raptor.

Having satisfied itself that the “coast was clear” it ran back to feed on the flesh on the bones we had laid out. If there had been many vultures on a carcass, this vulture would probably have run toward the carcass with its wings out in a threatening display.

The Cape vulture fed among several White-necked ravens which did not seem to be bothered by the much larger vulture. The Cape vulture tore off the flesh and fat on the bones but it would normally go for the muscle and internal organs of a large carcass. It has a strong and sharp enough beak to tear open the tougher parts of the carcass. Farmers donate carcasses to the vulture project but only the ones that have not been treated with veterinary products which are harmful to the vultures.

“The web of life both cradles us and calls us to weave it further.” ~ Joanna Macy

One noticeable feature of the Cape vulture is the blue-grey bare skin breast patches either side of the crop. Some think these bare skin patches have a thermo-regulation function. Perhaps they may also have a brood patch function as can be seen on Saddle-billed storks. Vultures also thermo-regulate by hunching their bodies and tucking in their heads in the cold, and opening their wings and stretching their necks in the heat .

The dynamics on the feeding shelf changed when the male Black-backed jackal arrived to claim his share of the bones. These two species seem to be old antagonists and probably quite evenly matched one on one. The male jackal appeared to have a disjointed jaw, possibly an old injury which made him a little more wary about tangling with this large vulture.

I have never seen a Cape vulture fly off the feeding shelf with a bone, unlike the Bearded vultures and Jackal Buzzards and even the ravens. The Cape vulture’s feet although large are not built for catching live prey or carrying off large bones. Its feet are strong enough to hold a part of the carcass or bone to enable it to rip apart muscle tissue and tendons. The Cape vulture has anisodactylic feet which has the first digit, the big toe or hallux, as a backward facing toe and three forward facing toes with the middle one being the longest. Vultures have weak feet compared with eagles, and a relatively small hind toe, which is capable of gripping but not killing.

The Black-backed jackals have to be careful as the Cape vulture has a powerful hooked beak and can be aggressive when defending its food. The bird reference book, Roberts VII has noted the curious ‘foot show’ sometimes performed by the Cape Vulture. It half opens its wings, walks about on stiff legs and then raises one spread foot while hissing loudly all the time. This display is thought to be driven by the conflicting impulses of fear and aggression.( Source:https://birding.krugerpark.co.za/birding-in-kruger-raptor-vultures.html)

This Cape vulture decided to leave the feeding area after having been pushed by the Black-backed jackal. The large wings are not ideal for flapping so this vulture just dived off the cliff edge to get airborne.

This is the highest flying vulture, preferring to fly at a heights of around 8 000 metres. To be able to hunt at this height means that their eyesight has to be outstanding. These vultures are estimated to be able to see with 20 times better resolution than human beings, and eight times further. Vultures tend to watch each other and other raptors when flying to see if they have discovered a carcass on the ground.

According to the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), the Cape Vulture was listed as Endangered on the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species, but in 2021 it was ‘down listed’ to Vulnerable. This is a remarkable conservation success story and testament to the tireless efforts of multiple generations of conservationists in southern Africa. This achievement resulted from a concerted effort by various organisations, including the EWT, BirdLife South Africa, and wildlife rehabilitation centres such as Moholoholo, VulPro, and others.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” ~ Margaret Mead

The number of Cape vultures had been steadily declining since at least the 1980s when it was first classified as endangered. Between 1992 and 2007, in South Africa alone this species has declined by 60-70%. By 2021, the total population of mature individuals is estimated to be approximately 9,600-12,800 individuals and was assessed as Vulnerable. (Source: https://projectvulture.org.za/the-vultures/cape-vulture/).

Cape vultures are thought to be subject to many threats. Reduced abundance of large carrion, especially during nesting, targeted or inadvertent poisoning, loss of foraging habitat, and unsustainable harvesting for traditional uses are thought to be the most important factors.

“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” ~ Beverly Sills

According to Vulture Conservation Foundation, vultures play a crucial role in the environments in which they live. These scavengers do the dirty work of cleaning up after death, helping to keep ecosystems healthy and prevent the spread of disease. Vultures have extremely corrosive stomach acid that allows them to consume rotting animal corpses. These scavenged leftovers are often infected with anthrax, botulinum toxins and rabies that would otherwise kill other animals. When vultures consume carcasses, they keep diseases in check.

“Shallow ecology is anthropocentric, or human-centred. It views humans as above or outside nature, as the source of all value, and ascribes only instrumental, or ‘use’ value to nature. Deep ecology does not separate humans – or anything else – from the natural environment. It does see the world not as a collection of isolated objects but as a network of phenomena that are fundamentally interconnected and interdependent. Deep ecology recognises the intrinsic value of all human beings and views humans as just one particular strand in the web of life.” ~ Fritjof Capra

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike