On International Vulture Awareness Day, Wildlife ACT is proud to launch a unique campaign to support the protection of Africa’s Vultures. At the heart of this initiative stands a 2.6-metre Cape Vulture sculpture, soon to be unveiled at the Mzimkulu Vulture Hide in the Southern Drakensberg. Each feather on this striking artwork will carry the name of a supporter, symbolising collective effort in securing a future for these essential birds.
By contributing to the sculpture, you are not only adding your name to a feather. You are funding vital conservation work that keeps Vultures in the skies of KwaZulu-Natal and beyond.
Why Vultures Matter
Vultures are nature’s most efficient clean-up crew. They consume carcasses that would otherwise spread disease, preventing outbreaks that can affect wildlife, livestock, and people. Their digestive systems neutralise harmful pathogens such as anthrax and rabies, making them irreplaceable allies in keeping ecosystems healthy.
Where Vultures thrive, the environment is cleaner, disease risks are lower, and nutrient cycles are maintained. When they decline, the opposite happens. Carcasses linger, disease spreads more easily, and scavengers like feral dogs and rats move in, increasing risks for both people and wildlife.
Despite their value, Africa’s Vultures are in crisis. All six species found in South Africa are now listed as Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered. Poisoning, collisions with powerlines, food scarcity, and habitat loss are pushing populations into rapid decline.
Wildlife ACT’s Work for Vultures
Wildlife ACT is a founding member of the Zululand Vulture Project and works closely with the Bearded Vulture Task Force and Project Vulture. Our teams monitor Vulture nesting sites, fit GPS tracking units, and respond to poisoning incidents across KwaZulu-Natal. We also manage Vulture Safe Feeding Sites, which provide clean carcasses free from toxins and veterinary drugs, ensuring safe food for Vultures while allowing valuable monitoring data to be collected.
In the Southern Drakensberg, our work focuses on the last remaining breeding population of the Bearded Vulture in South Africa, as well as the Cape Vulture, both of which rely on the high cliffs and open grasslands of this unique landscape.
Why the Cape Vulture?
The Cape Vulture (Gyps coprotheres) holds a special place in the Maloti–Drakensberg region. Classified as Vulnerable, it is endemic to southern Africa and is one of the two cliff-nesting Vultures that still breed here.
The Mzimkulu Vulture Hide, where the 2.6-metre sculpture will stand, is part of Wildlife ACT’s Vulture Safe Feeding Site network. Cape Vultures are regular visitors, often seen gathering to feed and soaring over the valleys. Their presence at the hide is a daily reminder of the fragility of their populations and the critical role they play in keeping ecosystems balanced.
By choosing the Cape Vulture for this sculpture, the campaign celebrates a species that visitors to the hide can witness first-hand. It symbolises resilience in the face of immense challenges and highlights the importance of protecting and restoring the landscapes these birds depend on. The sculpture is more than artwork. It is a beacon for conservation rooted in a place where Cape Vultures still circle the skies.
A Collective Effort
Each feather on the Cape Vulture sculpture represents a supporter who has chosen to stand with Wildlife ACT in the fight to protect Vultures. Together, these feathers form the wings of the sculpture, showing that every individual contribution is part of a greater whole.
Funds raised through the purchase of feathers go directly toward Wildlife ACT’s Vulture conservation work. This includes nest monitoring, safe feeding site management, poisoning response, and community outreach that helps reduce conflict and promote coexistence.
By adding your name to the sculpture, you are joining a global movement of people who recognise the importance of Vultures and are willing to act for their survival.
How You Can Get Involved
Becoming part of this campaign is simple and the impact is lasting. When you purchase a feather, your name will be inscribed on the Cape Vulture sculpture at the Mzimkulu Vulture Hide, standing alongside a growing flock of supporters from across the world.
Each feather purchased funds real conservation work. It helps keep feeding sites safe and stocked, supports nest monitoring, and strengthens rapid responses when Vultures are at risk. Visitors to the hide will see the sculpture and the names it carries, each one a clear reminder that people chose to stand up for these birds.
Your feather is more than a symbol. It is part of a collective commitment that helps ensure Vultures continue to rise on the thermals above the Drakensberg.
