Vulture Safe Zone certified in national park
The Endangered Wildlife Trust has been working in Mokala National Park since 2008, monitoring vultures and other raptors.
Image: File
MOKALA NATIONAL PARK in the Northern Cape has become the first South African National Parks (SANParks) reserve to be certified as a Vulture Safe Zone (VSZ) - boosting wildlife conservation efforts led by the Endangered Wildlife Trust(EWT).
Eleanor Momberg, the EWT’s communications manager, says that the certification marks a significant milestone in efforts to protect threatened vulture species and other raptors. Mokala is a stronghold for breeding White-backed Vultures (Gyps africanus), and the designation is expected to bolster conservation work in the area.
“The certification is a further step in a working relationship between the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and SANParks to conserve threatened species and restore and preserve the habitats they require to survive,” said EWT CEO Yolan Friedmann.
EWT has been active in Mokala since 2008, monitoring vultures and other birds of prey.
"In the last three years, the EWT’s Birds of Prey team and park management have been mitigating threats to vultures and related species on the 27,500ha property with the aim to certify it as a Vulture Safe Zone (VSZ)," said Momberg.
The team from the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and SANParks who are working together to conserve threatened species and restore and preserve the habitats they require to survive.
Image: Endangered Wildlife Trust
What is a Vulture Safe Zone?
Vulture Safe Zones were developed in response to the Asian Vulture Crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, during which vulture populations in India declined by more than 99%.
Momberg said that research later showed that the veterinary drug Diclofenac was responsible for the mass die-off.
"The disappearance of Vultures in India led to the ecological tipping of scales, causing the death of tens of thousands of people due to the spread of pathogens because of the decline in vultures, known as the environment’s clean-up crew."
She added that the urgent need for action to stop the rapid decline of vulture species in Eurasia and Africa prompted the creation of the Multi-Species Action Plan to Conserve African-Eurasian Vultures (Vulture MsAP), which recognises VSZs as a key tool in reducing threats to vultures.
"Vulture Safe Zones are recognised in the Vulture MsAP as a means to encourage the responsible management of the environment by actively reducing threats to vultures in identified areas," said Momberg
To qualify as a VSZ, areas must be poison-free, carcasses must not be contaminated with NSAIDs, power lines must be mitigated to prevent electrocutions and collisions, and breeding or roosting populations must be protected and monitored annually.
Mokala’s conservation efforts
Mokala is the first of several national parks identified for certification. In partnership with Eskom, the project has ensured that power lines are safe, while SANParks Honorary Rangers donated nets to cover dams and prevent drownings.
As a breeding stronghold, Mokala has seen more than 1,100 vulture chicks ringed and tagged since the EWT began working there. In October 2025 alone, 90 chicks were tagged and 155 active nests were recorded in the wider breeding area, which includes neighbouring farms.
“With the Vulture Safe Zone certification in place, Mokala National Park now has ample support to continue critical conservation efforts to protect their resident vulture populations, as well as other threatened birds of prey, including Martial Eagle and Tawny Eagle,” Friedmann said.