Cape Vulture (Gyps coprotheres)

'Oscar' is the main star of our new 'Wings out of Africa' display team for 2009. With a winsgpan of 2.5 metres, to say he is impressive flying on an arena is an understatement! See our list of events to see where the 'Wings out of Africa' team will be appearing. When not at displays Oscar is used at the centre for display and Experience Days.

Oscar showing off his 2 1/2 metre wingspan

IN THE WILD

Origin: Southern parts of Africa: central and eastern South Africa, southern Mozambique, east and southeast Botswana; no longer nests in Zimbabwe (are non-breeding roosts) or Namibia (only 6 non-breeding birds recorded in 2000).

Diet: Carrion: mainly muscle meat, intestines and bone flakes of large dead mammals, but much of their range has now been reduced to sheep, goats, cattle and variety of other carrion - large and small.

Habitat: Mainly mountain cliffs with ledges for breeding or roosting, isolated mountain ledges in lowland areas are used. Forages over open or fairly open country, including desert.

The population has declined since the 1960s and is still declining. Classified as Vulnerable by IUCN. Some birds are shot due to stories of them taking live sheep (it would not be possible for them to take a healthy sheep, but would be for one that was compromised by disease or injury). Others are killed by witchdoctors as medicines and for their bones. Many are poisoned, mostly non-intentionally ,due to poisoned carcasses left out for mammalian predators and scavengers. Many birds have been electrocuted on pylons or by flying into cables; some are drowned in water tanks. Also disturbance at colonies and decreases in food availability (indiginous mammals greatly reduced by hunting and dead domestic stock is often buried). The breeding sucess is low and sickly juveniles may be due to a shortage of calcium (used to be obtained from bone flakes from hyenas or jackals crushing bones). Without calcium bones of young birds are malformed or break very easily.

Conservation: Food shortages and calcium deficiency are being combatted by putting carcasses and crushed bones out at 'Vulture restaurants' which are regularly visited by foraging birds.