What is a Vulture Safe Feeding Site?

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Vulture safe feeding sites or vulture restaurants are areas where uncontaminated carcasses  are intentionally placed to provide a safe and sustainable supplementary food source for vultures, to help ensure their survival and contribute to the ecological balance.

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Why do we need Vulture Safe Feeding Sites?

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Vultures are scavenger birds that play a crucial role in ecosystems by consuming carrion. Due to the decrease in their numbers and increase in occurrences of intentional and accidental poisoning incidents, the need for safe supplementary sources of food has become crucial to support the survival of this species.

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A Vulture Safe Feeding Site for the Southern Drakensberg

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The Southern Drakensberg is a stronghold location for two of South Africa’s cliff nesting species of vulture, namely the Bearded Vulture and Cape Vulture.

As such, it is essential for conservation initiatives to be spearheaded in this region, aimed at preserving and protecting this crucial population of endangered birds.

The implementation of a vulture safe feeding zone is one such initiative that has started strongly with vital support from the Drakensberg Conservation Initiative and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife in collaboration with Wildlife ACT; as  the essential input of local farmers and landowners.

Vulture feeding sites may also incorporate hides, allowing photographers and conservation enthusiasts to have a close-up view of these incredible birds and other animals that frequent the sites. In addition to increasing public awareness about the challenges faced by vultures, these hides serve an important role in ecotourism, with the potential to generate revenue to sustain vulture conservation initiatives.