Uniting to save the Southern ground-hornbill

Like the rhino, the Southern ground hornbill is threatened with extinction in Africa’s savannas. Lucy Kemp, head of the Mabula-Ground Hornbill Project, said that only 400 to 500 groups of these birds remain in South Africa and half of them are within the Kruger National Park. “Visitors to the Kruger Park have a perception that these animals are plentiful but there are very few of these birds left in areas outside the park,” she said.

The Southern ground hornbill is known as the ‘thunder bird’ because they are said to bring the rain, however Kemp explained that the name probably stuck because they lay their eggs during the first big rains and have a loud booming call.

Threats to the ground hornbill

Ground hornbills are the largest birds in the world to breed in co-operative groups of three to 12 individuals, however only one pair actually breeds while the rest of the group helps to raise the chick. They breed very slowly and rear only one chick every few years.

Kemp explained that ground hornbills lay two eggs at a time which hatch two or three days apart. “When the first egg hatches the chick’s health is assessed by the hornbills in the group and if anything is wrong with it they wait for the other chick to hatch and abandon the first one. If the first chick is healthy they abandon the second chick but either way only one chick is raised,” Kemp said.

The ground hornbills’ breeding method is one of the reasons the birds are so endangered but other threats to the species include habitat loss, agricultural pesticides, lead poisoning, loss of their nests, electrocution from transformer boxes, and the muti trade.

Multi-pronged approach

The Mabula Ground Hornbill project uses a multi-pronged approach to try to protect and nurture the species. Kemp explained that the project focuses heavily on education and awareness in areas where the birds live. They also try to educate land owners about the importance of the bird in the ecological system and try to get them to sign custodianship pledges. “Ground hornbills will not live in grass that is over 50cm high and they also need a territory of 100 to 250km² so if land owners can consistently clear away just a few open areas for them this goes a long way to saving the species,” she said.

Montecasino’s Involvement

Montecasino has come onboard as one of the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project’s primary sponsors. Kemp explained that the role of the Montecasino Bird Gardens in the long-term conservation plan is extremely important. The Bird Gardens facilitate contact between the birds and the public and raise awareness about species through their educational shows. They are also building the captive population of ground hornbills. Martie Rossouw of the Bird Gardens said that they house two of only four breeding pairs in South Africa. Yet the Bird Gardens’ involvement does not stop there. Kemp explained that part of the Mabula Ground Hornbill project is the harvesting of abandoned chicks from breeding pairs in the Kruger National Park. “We retrieve the abandoned chick from the nest and with the help of Airlink we fly them to OR Tambo International Airport,” Kemp explained. The chick is then picked up by a member of the Montecasino Bird Gardens and taken back to the bird gardens to be hand-reared. At the Bird Gardens the chick is fed and cared for until it is old enough to be re-introduced into the wild. The aim of the re-introductions are to re-populate areas especially in Limpopo which are natural habitats for the birds.