South Africa’s last bearded vultures seek survival in Dragon Mountain home

The task force is monitoring the progress of a bearded vulture chick being reared on a remote Drakensberg cliff ledge. Images of the fast-growing bird and its parents are captured each day at the nest site — whose location is kept secret, using a solar-powered camera and transmitted to the team.

The vultures have a wingspan of 9 feet and stand 4 feet tall. They live off a diet of bone and marrow, extracting nourishment by dropping the bones of dead animals from height and dashing them on the rocks below.

Conservationists want to protect the vultures’ aerie in a stretch of the Drakensberg, a range that snakes for 620 miles through eastern South Africa, climbing as high as 11,400 feet.

The scientists are trying to dissuade farmers from laying the deadly bait that kills jackals that take their sheep — but also poisons the birds of prey. Traditional healers shoot, trap and poison the birds, which are believed to provide clairvoyant powers that bring success in gambling and business, improve children’s school marks and relieve ailments including headaches.

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