Day 4

Today morning was a treat. We saw many wild life - bush buck, impala, ox and birds. Yesterday evening we saw two elephants. They all come to the water hole. It’s fascinating to watch them in their one way of being. Also we, without a plan, was able to be here for the vulture feeding time. Everyday at 1pm they feed the vultures. It’s part of their conservation effort to save vultures. Right about the time hundreds of vultures start to gather in the skies. When the guy goes out to put the meat out, they fly down and flock around him in a half circle. I think it’s because the other half are crowded by human spectators. Even when the meat if thrown they don’t come to take it until the guy leaves. They just patiently or rather impatiently wait and once the guy leaves suddenly flocks and attack’s the meat. As they scoop in for the meat we could get a pacifist smell from the vultures. Must have been vulture smell.

The conservation project is because vultures are endangered species. I didn’t know that. I thought there were too many of them. They are the great scavengers and cleaners if carcasses that they help in spreading infectious diseases from animals to human by eating dead animals. 

But for a number of reasons that I cannot remember specifically why they are dying. Partly because of cyanide and other chemicals injected into the bodies of animals by farmers. When the animals die the vultures feed on them. Sometimes they are killed right there. Other times the mothers take feed to the young and then they die or they dies as a result of a parent dying. He also mentioned that over generations the vulture egg shell can get soft so that before the chicks could hatch the eggs crack. Many of these reasons have contributed towards the decline of the vulture population.