North Anston wildlife centre appeal is flying high

The Tropical Butterfly House, Wildlife and Falconry Centre in North Anston, has raised £4,910 in donations for the Hawk Conservancy Trust’s International Vulture Programme.

An African white-backed vulture named Zulu is now housed at the centre and has become known for running after staff and appearing to help them clean his enclosure, as well as starring in the centre’s animal and bird displays.

The impressive fund-raising sum was collected during the animal and bird displays throughout the summer.

The African white-backed vulture species has undergone a rapid decline in the wild owing to habitat loss and conversion to agro-pastoral systems, declines in wild ungulate populations, hunting for trade, persecution, collisions and poisoning. 

Centre manager Andrew Reeve said: “We are hugely grateful to our visitors for raising this money, they can be confident that their money is going to make a real difference to this important cause. 

“The Hawk Conservancy Trust are doing great work in monitoring and investigating aspects of Vulture ecology.

“They have started work on an anti-poisoning strategy in South Africa and a large part of the money raised will go towards supplying and distributing poison response kits, and related training.”

Zulu is an ambassador for the International Vulture Programme run by the Hawk Conservancy Trust in Southern Africa and South Asia. 

The conservation and research work of these programmes covers six vulture species, including the African white-backed vulture.