African Wildlife & Environment Issue 83

F W F N EW ESSLSEAT TLE RA D4 E(R2S0H2 I3P)

Ford Wildlife Foundation Provides Mobility for VulPro

The FWF will be playing a vital role in supporting the protection of the African Whitebacked vulture from extinction by supporting VulPro – a vulture conservation, rescue, rehabilitation and research organisation that was launched in 2007. FWF is assisting this project by providing a South African-built Ford Ranger Double Cab 4x4 to the organisation for a period of two years.This will give VulPro the much needed mobility to implement its multidisciplinary approach of African vulture breeding surveys and ongoing rehabilitation of these endangered species, enabling the team to reach remote locations with confidence. “African vultures are a vital part of the ecosystem, yet they are threatened with extinction and their conservation is of extreme importance,” says

A wild Cape Vulture spreads its its mighty wings at the Vulpro vulture restaurant

“Each year we rescue approximately 100 vultures from across South Africa, releasing approximately half of them back into the wild,” All birds that survive but are non-releasable are introduced into VulPro’s successful captive breeding programme where viable fledglings are released back into the wild to boost wild

VulPro’s Kerri Wolter. “We use a multidisciplinary approach to conserving these species, with the emphasis on rescuing injured and compromised birds and transporting them back to our world-class rehabilitation facility.

populations. “Our work takes us all over South Africa to remote locations and hard to reach places.” Along with its rescue and rehabilitation efforts, VulPro started a breeding and tracking research project in 2015, which was further strengthened by PhD candidate and VulPro staff member, Caroline Hannweg’s current research project that began in 2022. “My research project is focused on African White-backed Vulture movement and breeding across Southern Africa.” For more information on Vulpro visit: www.vulpro.com

Kerri Wolter with the keys to the Vulpro Ford Ranger

11 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 83 (2023)