Phoenix
Phoenix is a young captive bred Cape Vulture, born in 2006, who is to be an ambassador bird for his wild and severely threatened counterparts. This social fellow will hopefully introduce people to the world of vultures and help to dispel some of the myths and concerns surrounding these important ‘clean-up’ species. Cape Vultures (Afrikaans – Kransaasvoel, Zulu – iNqe Yasekoloni) are endemic to southern Africa and are now considered a ’vulnerable’ species. Young Cape vultures wander great distances across the sub-continent for 5 or 6 years before they attain adulthood and return to a whitewashed cliff-face colony to nest and breed. Their numbers have severely declined due to traditional medicine trade, power-line electrocutions and poisoning from illegally laced carcasses used to try and kill carnivores that threaten small livestock.