The Sasol Bird Fair, the largest fair of its kind in Southern Africa, which took place at the Johannesburg Zoo in May, is a project of BirdLife South Africa, sponsored by Sasol, in partnership with the Johannesburg Zoo and City Parks.

The successful event presented two days of fun and learning for bird lovers and families. There were free activities, guided bird walks and the Centenary Lawn proved to be a popular spot to watch bird demonstrations and listen to the live music performed by the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra.

The focus of the fair this year was on wetland birds – especially the Bird of the Year, the White-winged Flufftail. Further, the fair aimed to foster enthusiasm for the preservation of South Africa’s birdlife by educating the public about birds and bird conservation, and inspiring an interest in bird-watching.

The Sasol Bird Fair had something for everyone, from bird books, binoculars, bird feeders and accommodation to birding tours. Some of the exhibitors included BirdLife South Africa, Swarovski, Elaine’s Birding & Wildlife Products, FreeMe, SANParks Honorary Rangers, Mabula Ground Hornbill Projects, Adventures with Nature Books, Rockjumper Birding Adventures, Mopane Bush Lodge and bird artists.

The three organisations responsible for organising the event have committed to sponsoring a variety of birding projects. Sasol supports the activities of the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s vulture study group, the Ground Hornbill project and numerous other initiatives, all aimed at creating enthusiasm and preservation of the precious bird resource in South Africa.

The Johannesburg Zoo permanently houses 27 endangered species and participates in at least six conservation projects, namely the Wattled Crane Recovery Programme and the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project, among others. BirdLife South Africa’s mission is to promote the enjoyment, conservation, study and understanding of wild birds and their habitats.

The use of poison is one of the major causes for the ongoing decline in vulture populations across Africa. This was confirmed by the recent deaths of almost 1 000 vultures in poisoning incidents in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent. The most recent case in South Africa resulted in the death of 55 vultures after feeding on poisoned sheep carcasses in KwaZulu-Natal.

The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) is instrumental in creating awareness of the vultures’ plight in the Southern African region, and highlighting the work by conservationists who monitor populations and implement measures to conserve vultures and their habitats.

To date, major conservation successes have been achieved and the organisation’s aim is to educate farmers on the effects of using poison on their farms.

EWT’s Birds of Prey manager Andre Botha says substantial numbers of vultures are deliberately poisoned for various reasons every year. Africa’s vulture populations cannot sustain such losses and the current decline may have serious ecological and human health consequences in the longer term.

In Southern Africa alone, more than 400 vultures have been deliberately poisoned over the last two years. Poisoning seems to be particularly prevalent in certain parts of KwaZulu-Natal as vulture body parts are used in traditional medicine. It is estimated that, at the current rate of illegal harvesting of vultures for the traditional medicine market, certain species of vultures may become extinct in the province within the next five to ten years,” says Botha.

many of the allegedly poisoned birds were adult individuals of breeding age, it is likely that the massacre will affect the bird population as, in some cases, one-half of a breeding pair may have been lost.

Vultures play an important ecological role and farmers hold the future of vultures in their hands. By rapidly consuming the remains of dead animals, vultures can prevent these carcasses from acting as hosts to various diseases that may spread to livestock.

Sasol is one of the role-players in the con-servation of indigenous wildlife, and has part- nered with EWT to support vulture con-servation through the Sasol-sponsored Vulture Monitoring Project.

The project promotes vulture conservation among farming and rural communities of Southern Africa through engagement to continuously assess the status of the vulture populations, to maintain a high level of research on vultures in Southern Africa and to establish and maintain a long-term monitoring programme.

Sasol has sponsored the EWT Vulture Study Group’s Vulture Monitoring Project since 1988, which has enabled the monitoring and evaluation of vulture population trends throughout Southern Africa. Data obtained through the project has led to a greater understanding of vulture biology and population trends, which has informed vulture conservation in the region.

Sasol is committed to sponsoring a variety of bird-related projects. “At Sasol, we aim to foster enthusiasm for the preservation of our country’s birds while supporting the activities of the EWT Birds of Prey Programme, the Ground Hornbill project and numerous other initiatives,” concludes Sasol’s sponsorship manager, Richard Hughes.