Lappet-faced Vultures in Kruger National Park are facing a growing challenge as vital nesting habitat is increasingly at risk. These vultures rely on a small number of key nest trees to breed, yet elephants are damaging and knocking these trees down at an alarming rate. Our monitoring indicates that suitable nest trees are now extremely limited, and time is running out to protect what remains. The reason elephants target these particular trees, often without feeding on them as they would typically, is still unknown. But the impact is undeniable. With so few nest trees remaining and the species producing, at most, one chick per year, urgent intervention is essential.
In collaboration with Kruger’s Section Rangers, we have begun introducing a proven, traditional elephant deterrent by placing pointed blocks around the base of Lappet-faced Vulture nest trees. This approach is non-harmful to elephants but effectively discourages them from interacting with the trees.
Before rolling out this method to all of the remaining nest trees, we will conduct a pilot project on up to 12 nest trees to assess its effectiveness. Success will be measured by two criteria: elephants being deterred from damaging the protected trees, and vultures continuing to use them for nesting. The pilot will involve installing approximately 2,000 pointed concrete blocks around the base of each of the 12 trees. Although labour-intensive to install, the system requires minimal maintenance and has no known negative effects on other species.
Protection has already been implemented at two nest trees, and early monitoring suggests that, so far, the method is successfully discouraging elephant interactions with the trees. We are continuing to monitor these protected sites, and keeping our fingers crossed for a successful breeding season for these Endangered birds.
The new ‘tree-safe system’ is a promising lifeline for Lappet-faced Vultures. With this encouraging first step, we’re now facing the mammoth task of rolling this protection out to thirty known nesting trees within Kruger National Park before they are all destroyed. With each tree costing just over £2000 to protect, we’re going to need as much support as possible to give these vultures a fighting chance before it’s too late.
This year, we’re hoping to raise £80,000 for this urgent project. This will cover the costs of implementing these protective measures to all the known nest sites across the project range, and give every vulture the best possible chance of survival. Can you help us help Lappet-faced Vultures?
Each concrete pyramid costs 75p to make, and each tree needs 2000 pyramids to protect it from elephants coming close enough to destroy it. This means for 12 trees, we will need 24,000 pyramids!
By making a donation, you’ll be directly helping to support this species:
