The Ford Wildlife Foundation (FWF) will be playing a vital role in supporting the protection of the African 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 4×4 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,” said 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.
“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 populations.
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 in relation to climate change,” said Hannweg.
Hannweg and her team have already been successful in fitting GPS tracking devices to several birds, which has helped expand the breeding monitoring of African white-backed vultures across the country.
“Our work takes us all over South Africa to remote locations and hard to reach places, all in the name of protecting these important species,” said Wolter.
“The generous contribution from the Ford Wildlife Foundation of the Ford Ranger Double Cab 4×4 will help us continue our work in these sites, while safely transporting VulPro staff and volunteers so we can conduct our important field research”
Vehicles are loaned to the partner organisations for a period of two years, with servicing and maintenance provided by the Ford dealer network.
- For more information on Vulpro visit: www.vulpro.com.
ISSUED: FORD SA
