Cape vultures killed for muti find young protectors in Limpopo – Keri Wolter (Vulpro CEO)

Many African cultures use body parts, claws, teeth and hides in rituals. Vultures are often targeted because their keen eyesight is believed to grant clairvoyance. In Limpopo’s Blouberg Nature Reserve, VulPro is raising awareness of vultures’ vital role; community involvement and youth engagement have reduced muti‑related killings. CEO Keri Wolter told BizNews that school programmes have shifted young people’s attitudes — more now report sightings and value vulture protection. Wolter says vultures uniquely consume diseased carcasses and that her interest began after raising an abandoned chick. She said Vulpro is hoping to use the success of the Limpopo project to other hot spots area of South Africa where there is side-by-side living with culture colonies.

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Edited transcript of the interview

Linda van Tilburg (00:26.944)

In the cliffs of Limpopo's Blouberg Nature Reserve, a program to protect South Africa's largest breeding colony of endangered Cape vultures is beginning to bear fruit, thanks to a grassroots conservation push by VulPro, an organization formed to safeguard these misunderstood scavengers. Joining us is Kerry Wolter, VulPro CEO and tireless advocate for Africa's vultures, to explain how community engagement is changing the game. Kerry, thanks so much for joining us.

Kerri Wolter (00:56.942)

Thanks for having me.

Linda van Tilburg (01:00.034)

I think, first of all, we are familiar with the plight of rhinos and other endangered species. So, what's happening with Cape vultures and why are they critically endangered?

Kerri Wolter (01:11.79)

So, vultures are listed as vulnerable. Thankfully, they're not critically endangered. And in fact, they're a species that, after years and years of conservation intervention, things are looking up. However, they are a species that is highly sought after for belief-based purposes, and this is very prevalent in the Limpopo province, specifically around the Blouberg Cape Vulture colony, which is surrounded by communities that have a very strong belief in the traditional belief-based system out there.

Linda van Tilburg (01:51.721)

What are they used for, muti?

Kerri Wolter (01:54.594)

They are used for muti. There's a belief that because their eyesight is so incredibly sharp, they are clairvoyant and can see into the future. So, they are used for any kind of gambling methods, whether it be the National Lotto, horse gambling, card games, or other forms of gambling—any kind of method to be able to perceive your future. That could also be, for example, matric exams. They really do believe that the vulture's eyes and brain are a doorway into being able to foresee the future.

Linda van Tilburg (02:45.945)

So how many get killed annually?

Kerri Wolter (02:49.974)

I can't say exactly, you know, there's very little research because it's a subject that is hard to investigate. But you're probably looking at over 100 or so that are used a year. It's obviously illegal and under the table, so it's very, very difficult to actually get to the groups to determine how many are really being used. This number is probably just a fraction of what's really out there.

Linda van Tilburg (03:22.679)

Well, they're quite astute, so how are they caught?

Kerri Wolter (03:26.976)

In the Blouberg area, specifically, what happens is it's the largest Cape Vulture colony in the world. Cape Vultures are only endemic to Southern Africa, with about four and a half thousand breeding pairs left. What happens is the young birds, when they fledge, if the weather conditions are not suitable and they leave the cliff faces, the only place to go is down. Specifically, if the weather is not good, they rely on thermals to stay aloft, and if there are no thermals, they become grounded. Because the communities live at the foothills of the Blouberg Mountains, they're very easy to capture once they become grounded. They're very heavy birds; if there's no lift, they're almost like an airplane—you need a bit of a runway to get lift. So if they're cornered, or if there's heavy rainfall, they get waterlogged and just cannot fly if they're wet or if there are no thermals.

Linda vanTilburg (04:34.526)

Tell us about the program that you've launched to help these vultures.

Kerri Wolter (04:42.318)

So, what we've done is we've now got a specific lady who goes into the communities, and it really is about trying to create awareness, educate, but also foster empathy for the birds, which I think is really, really important. You cannot protect a species without first getting people to be emotionally connected to them. 

We're trying to get the community to connect with the birds, understand their importance, and then become custodians of the species. We've been pretty successful in that. Now we have school kids contacting us, alerting us to vultures being harvested or caught. They really are buying into becoming custodians. There's no monetary reward for doing this; it's their goodwill and actually taking the conservation to heart, which is where we want to get to. So we believe it's about relationship building, trust, and understanding on both sides—understanding what their needs are, what their difficulties are, and how we can try to make their lives easier while creating an understanding that live vultures are worth a lot more than a population or a species that goes extinct.

Linda van Tilburg (06:10.27)

Tell us about the woman you mentioned. Is that Philippine Makhubela?

Kerri Wolter (06:15.98)

Yes, that's Philippine. She's fairly new to VulPro. She's specifically been employed to tackle this ambitious task and to create, as I said, that connection. Before Philippine, we would go in maybe four times a year, but we felt that we needed to be there on a daily basis to nurture a relationship. Going there four times a year is really not going to do anything, but you really want to become part of the community and a trustworthy member of the community to create change.

Linda van Tilburg (06:59.646)

Is it realistic to aim for the total eradication of this practice?

Kerri Wolter (07:07.094)

I don't think we will ever achieve that, and I don't think that's our goal. It would be fantastic, but how do you change a person's belief system? That's pretty much what we are attempting to do. So, we target the younger generation, hoping they can influence their family members, peers, and colleagues to create change in that manner. 

This is a long-term project; it's not something that's going to be a quick fix. It's very ambitious because you're really trying to change a person's religious beliefs and how they deal with their culture. We're not planning to change absolutely everyone, but we are hoping to create a significant positive impact for the species and an understanding that live vultures are worth a lot more than dead ones. We're also looking at modern medicine. I always find it quite interesting how we talk about traditional healers and belief-based use, but everyone's using cell phones, and even in communities, everybody has satellite TV and is watching DSTV. So, there’s got to be an element of understanding what we mean when we talk about traditional and cultural, and then bringing in the modern—where is the fine line, and how do we understand those aspects?

Linda vanTilburg (08:57.684)

So, is that the analogy you use when you tell them why it's important? Why stick to old beliefs? Do you use the cell phone analogy to entice them or to create a picture of how they should see it?

Kerri Wolter (09:15.436)

We do, but we try to get them to make the change. Instead of telling them, we try to get them to speak more than us speaking, because again, it's about fostering that empathy. It needs to come from them. We don't want to be the ones preaching. We want to give them the information, and we are creating a difference where they are now coming to us, wanting to be part of the change. So, we do give them the analogy, we give them examples, but they're the ones making the change. They're the ones taking it upon themselves to become informants because they want to see change as well.

Linda van Tilburg (10:02.163)

How can the lessons learned at Blouberg be applied across Southern Africa to save vultures in other areas?

Kerri Wolter (10:08.962)

That's what we're hoping to do. We're hoping to use Blouberg as a flagship project and then take that to other hotspot areas where we know there's a side-by-side community living with colonies. Here in the Eastern Cape, we've done just that. We've gone into the Transkei areas, into the communities, but it's quite different in the Eastern Cape. The communities there are already the custodians; they are already championing conservation. It's slightly different—they're still very much old school, where there's a chief you need to speak to and ask for permission to monitor their birds. Because they believe it's their birds, there's a sense of ownership and championing their survival and conservation. 

At Blouberg, you have a very interesting dynamic because you've got this line between modern society and traditional society. That's what we find in Blouberg. So, there's quite a lot of differences between the different provinces and areas. Blouberg is quite unique in that there is no specific chief compared to here in the Eastern Cape. So, we definitely want to apply it, but I think our methodology may differ according to where we head next.

Linda vanTilburg (11:45.519)

What's your background? Why this interest in vultures?

Kerri Wolter (11:58.766)

My background is I've always had a huge love and passion for animals. I've always believed that I'm here on planet Earth to make a difference. When I was younger, I thought I was going to do something with horses. I've been riding horses since I was three years old. So, horses and dogs are my big thing, and vultures just evolved. I had an opportunity to raise a vulture chick, and I think that was the big change. Having a whole chick in my hand and understanding from there the fragility of the species, it kind of became a calling. To cut a long story short, 23 years later, I'm still trying to advocate for the plight of vultures, trying to be their voice and create this human connection. I'm not an ornithologist; I'm a conservationist, and I firmly believe that it is our responsibility to nurture and protect all species and that their survival rests solely in our hands, whether it be places like Kruger National Park or unfenced areas. Vultures to me are the epitome of freedom, and yet they're so misunderstood but so incredibly important. If I can create an emotional connection and change how people see vultures, then I think I've maybe made a difference for them.

Linda vanTilburg (13:45.409)

Raising a vulture chick sounds dangerous. There's something wrong with my audio; I need to have a check done. Raising a vulture chick sounds dangerous. I mean, they can bite.

Kerri Wolter (13:56.65)

Not when they're young; they're actually very sweet. They look like just bigger little chickens, I guess, with very weak feet. They are very, very cute, and they don't try to bite you at all. We definitely use the breeding program to showcase the fragility, but also that vultures can be cute. After five months, they're fully grown, but they can't fly yet. They're so small; they weigh about 140 grams when they hatch and get up to 11 kilograms. 

So, it's a species you wouldn't think is cute, and yet they are in their own right. That's what changed me, seeing a different side of them. That's what you can see with breeding—you really do see the parental bond; how caring and sensitive vultures can be. I think it's something human beings can learn from because not all parents are compassionate or caring. Sometimes it's just the mum or just the dad, but in the vulture world, it's both parents. In fact, sometimes they fight over who's going to protect or keep the chick warm or feed the chick. It's quite funny. I just think human beings can really learn about parental behaviour sometimes.

Linda van Tilburg (15:41.744)

Well, just lastly, why are vultures important?

Kerri Wolter (15:47.64)

Vultures help prevent the spread of diseases. They're the most efficient scavenger and the only scavenger that can consume carcasses that have been exposed to disease or have died of various diseases. The acidity in their stomach is so incredibly strong that it breaks down those bacteria, which means that if they consume a carcass that's, for example, died of anthrax, they don't get affected. By consuming that carcass so rapidly, it helps prevent that disease from being spread to either wildlife, domestic animals, or human beings as well. So they really are hugely important in helping prevent the spread of diseases and keeping our environment safe and clean.