Drakensberg Wilderness Hiking South Africa - Mountain of the Dragons - Where Adventure beckons.....: THE BEARDED VULTURES

Quathlamba

“A mass of Spears. Named thus by the Zulu warriors before the white man came. Today called the Drakensberg, Mountains of the Dragon. Evocative names, both equally applicable to South Africa’s mightiest mountain range with its spear-like peaks – reminiscent of the saw-toothed spine of a gigantic dragon.”

“Listen to the streams as they gurgle from their cradles and you will hear the story of the mountains. You will hear fascinating tales if only you listen! Lie next to a stream and listen to the song of the mountains. The smiling faces of the flowers, dancing in the wind. Venture into the remote valleys or stand on a peak at sunrise or sunset, after snow has fallen, and you will hear a song that you will never forget - the Song of the High Mountain".

DRAKENSBERG WILDERNESS PHOTOS © WILLEM PELSER

“ONLY THE MOUNTAINS ARE AWAKE

GUARDING THE VAGUE LOW SKY,

AND A BIRD FOR ITS OWN SONG’S SAKE AND I”.

LEONORA SPEYER

THE BEARDED VULTURES

KING OF THE DRAKENSBERG SKY

“I am so tired. I have been scrambling up this mountain now for hours, climbing severe cliffs, and gaining altitude all in my quest to beat Kwa-Pitole in the Lotheni Wilderness area and sit on her summit. One final push up a 20 meter cliff and I am close to the summit. Standing on top of the cliff, I had the world at my feet. Sitting down with my feet hanging over the cliff, I take a celebratory peach out of my backpack and surveyed the magnificent world around me. All of a sudden, behind me and very close; I hear this faint rustling noise. Turning my head around, I find myself looking straight into the most magnificent bird I have ever seen”.

This was my first introduction to the Bearded Vultures of the Drakensberg Wilderness. And what an introduction it was! Looking up at the vulture which was hovering about 4 meters above me was an unexplainable experience. It was surreal and out of this world. The vulture then flew past me, made a U-turn, and flew back towards me with the Elandshoek River Valley as a backdrop. It once again hovered above my head. This carried on for about 20 minutes before the bird disappeared as magically as it appeared.

I never thought that I would ever have the opportunity of seeing them, never mind experience them from so close-up. This specific bird was a magnificent specimen and absolutely huge. The wingspan was about 3 meters. The golden colors were just magnificent. This bird glided through the air without any effort whatsoever, and I did not see it flap its wings once. The bird was so close to me that I could see every feather and the facial expression whilst looking it straight in the eye. The aerial display I was treated to was simply out of this world. The experience was quite magical and seemed so surreal. It was as if this bird welcomed me into the wilderness and approved of my intrusion.

Imagine sitting on a cliff, the only human around in a vast Wilderness and then being treated to a display by such a magnificent, scarce bird!

From this day on, I would always come into contact with these birds. It is quite a special occasion for me, as it became standard that on my first day of a multi-day hike I would be greeted by them, and on the last day of a hike I would receive a goodbye! It is as if the mountain gods instructed these birds to be my companions on my solo journeys. I can definitely feel a spiritual connection with the Bearded Vultures.

The Bearded Vulture is mostly found in the KZN Drakensberg Mountain range in South Africa where they nest and breed high up the sheer mountain faces. They are capable of travelling huge distances during the day looking for food. I would often watch them making use of the thermals being generated in the mountains.

There are very few of these birds left in the Drakensberg and that is all due to the fact that they have been hunted and poisoned to near zero numbers before some sanity remained to prevent their total annihilation.

It was a greatly misunderstood bird and unfortunately nobody seemed to be interested in understanding them or to study them. When the white man invaded the wilderness and were allocated farms in this region, they came with a lot of livestock and especially sheep.

The Bearded Vulture was out and out viewed as a mega predator and responsible for sheep losses. They were shot on sight, poisoned, and actively hunted. They were given the name “Lammergeyer” due to the very false believe that they preyed on sheep. This behavior was to continue when the Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve was formed in the early years. The reserve was formed to; ironically, preserve the Eland population which was also being decimated at an alarming rate. The early rangers in this reserve were under instruction to hunt down and kill any animal which remotely resembled a predator in order to “protect” the Eland population. So at the end the very people, who should have protected all the animals, destroyed them. Even baboons were shot by the rangers and what a baboon has to do with the Eland population is any one’s guess.

It would take a long time before somebody understood the error of their ways and stopped the wanton destruction. It came nearly too late and today the Bearded Vulture population struggles to increase their numbers. The rangers of the time had quite a party and many species were on their list to be eradicated: Serval cat, mongoose, leopard, bearded vulture, black eagle, jackal, dassie, wild dogs, otters, baboons, hyenas, jackal buzzard, owls, secretary bird, and the marshal eagle. They actually submitted monthly reports to the head-office detailing the animals shot for the month. As far as the rangers and their bosses where concerned, only the Eland was to remain in the Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve. The problem became bigger as more farms were bought and the land added to the reserve.

To make matters worse, you had the farmers on the other side who shared the same policy of eradication. Apart from this they were also actively involved in the killing and poaching of eland. Farmers also poisoned dead sheep carcasses to kill the jackals and this practice obviously killed a lot of common vultures as well as the Bearded Vulture.

It was quite a travesty especially for the Bearded vulture. The Bearded vulture is part of the vulture family and they do not actively hunt for live prey. They are mostly bone and marrow eaters. When other species of vultures discover a carcass, the Bearded vulture would wait till the vultures are done and they would then feast on the bones left over. They will pick up a bone and fly up to a height from where they would drop the bones onto rocks. They will then fly down, pick up the bone again and carry on doing this until such time that the bone will shatter and they could get to the marrow and the smaller pieces of bone.

Bearded Vultures are very big birds and by sheer size alone they would be capable of hunting live prey, but, which they do not do. It saddens me that such a magnificent animal, so beautiful, was destroyed so wantonly.

Many a time I would watch as they soar in the sky and the sad thought would cross my mind: did whoever was so keen to kill ever felt a pang of regret?

There is a photo of a Giant’s Castle ranger posing with a dead Serval cat over one shoulder, rifle on the other; dog and horse close by. He is posing as just the man!

Today the Bearded Vulture is a protected species and on the endangered list. Fortunately somebody decided that enough is enough and stopped the killing.

There is nothing more spectacular in the Drakensberg Wilderness during a multi-day hike when you come into contact with these graceful, beautiful birds. It truly is a magical and spiritual experience.

I have done hundreds of kilometers through a vast area of the wilderness. It is such a true and wild paradise. Yet, which is very disturbing is the lack of animals, other than the eland population, being around. One would expect much more and a very diverse animal life, but sadly, it is not to be. The impact of those early days with the arrival of the first white man in the area is definitely felt to this day.

Today, the Drakensberg Wilderness is protected in its totality, although poaching still rules.

I hope that you will one day share in the magic of these birds on your hike. When you see them, sit yourself down, and watch the king of the sky. How will you know it is a Bearded Vulture? Believe you me, you will know.

We as hikers need to understand that when we do hike the Drakensberg Wilderness we are only visitors in paradise and that this world belongs to Mother Nature and her animals. We need to leave again, and when we do, there must be no sign of our passing through. We also have a duty to protect this area.

The End.

Safe Hiking.