HawkTalk Issue 95 Winter 2023

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HAWKTALK WINTER 2023 ISSUE 95

Africa’s elusive Hooded Vultures We love Hooded Vultures here at the Trust and we know many of you do too! Whilst you have been ducking out of the way of our cheeky Hooded Vultures in flight during our flying displays, our Conservation and Research team has been busy researching these vultures in South Africa. By being a member, you help fund projects like these, and we thought you would like to know what we have achieved since this project began in 2016, and our next steps towards conserving these important birds.

BACKGROUND Since the 1990s, Hooded Vulture populations have seen massive declines across Africa. We began this project to find out more about this Critically Endangered species. Studying the ecology of these birds means we are researching things such as their diets, their behaviour, and their interactions with other species. Once we have a greater understanding on these elusive birds, we can begin to plan how best to protect them. Not much of Hooded Vulture ecology has been studied in southern Africa before because they are quite elusive and found in areas where fewer people are living. They also nest in the canopies of trees, making them difficult to survey from the ground and from the air. This lack of information meant conservationists have been unable to make plans for how to reverse Hooded Vulture’s declining populations.

WE LOVE HOODIES

DISTRIBUTION

Sub-Saharan Africa except for the densely forested areas of Congo Basin and surrounding areas.

Hooded Vulture chick estimated to be 10 days old.