Protecting hornbills

The Southern Ground Hornbill, or thunder/rain bird as it known in African culture, is an endangered bird that is facing numerous challenges.

On June 23 the Modderfontein Conservation Society was host to guest speaker Mrs Lucy Kemp from the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project, a project that aims to promotes the species’ growth.

The discussion focused on the conservation of Ground Hornbills outside of protected areas.

In her discussion, Mrs Kemp spoke about the challenges facing the birds, the solutions established and the goals set for the future.

The focus on the conservation out of protected areas like the Kruger National Park is important because it deals with the population groups that are not protected by fences and come into contact with humans.

“Given enough time and space, the birds can recover,” said Mrs Kemp.

The challenges the birds face are:

•  Secondary poisoning by farmers who are trying to poison predators like jackals by using bait, but instead the birds eat the poisoned bait.
•  Lead toxicosis, a newly found threat that is the result of hunters using lead bullets while hunting. Lead bullets pose a challenge because when an antelope is shot, a certain amount of meat around the bullet wound has to be cut away and discarded as it has trace amounts of lead in it, which is often done by throwing it in the veld, which the birds then eat.
•  Habitat loss/transformation – although the birds are not fussy about living conditions, each group needs roughly 100 square kilometres as territory.
•  Persecution for the breaking of windows, because the birds are highly territorial, when they see their reflection in glass they fight with their reflection and break the glass. Mrs Kemp said that at a single flock broke 280 panes of glass in one day.
•  Electrocution because the birds make nests on electricity transformers.
•  Trade and traditional use.
•  The slow breeding rate; the birds only lay two eggs which can take up to nine years to raise. The stronger chick will survive while he weaker one dies from parental neglect.

In order to reintroduce the birds and help them, there is a strong focus on working with and educating the community about the birds while also reintroducing them into areas.

Because of the loss of habitat due to forests and urbanisation, often the birds lose their nests as a result. The project is in the process of making artificial nest that will last 50 to 60 years and will not be toxic. These nest have shown good result in the tests with the birds and show promise.

“All threats need to be dealt with to ensure reintroduction” said Mrs Kemp.

According to Mrs Kemp, one of the key reasons why the birds have a fighting chance is because of the cultural belief associated with them.

“There is a widespread belief in Africa that the birds kill snakes and are the bringers of rain,” said Mrs Kemp.

“There is hope,” she said.

Reasons for hope:

•  Because the birds have adapted to a more urbanised South Africa, they have found places to live such as ledges.
•  The birds have also taken well to the artificial nests designed by the project.
•  The opportunistic nature of the birds means they are not fussy eaters.
•  The birds are considered to be culturally valuable.
•  Through the conservation projects, greater understanding of the birds has risen. By setting a goal and working together with many wildlife and academic organisations, greater hope has been found alongside new research that helps the conservation of this bird.