South African energy company re-routes electricity lines to save buzzard's nest

A recent power outage affecting six towns near Vredendal, north of Cape Town in South Africa, was traced to a jackal buzzard that had made its nest in the wires and hatched two chicks.

Although jackal buzzards are not endangered, they play a vital role in the sensitive, arid landscape surrounding Vredendal, so engineers from the Eskom power company contacted the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) for assistance. 

Although several suggestions were put forward on how to resolve the outage problem, one thought was common for both Eskom and the EWT – that the nest should not be removed.

It was decided that the best course of action, causing the least disturbance, would be to re-route the power line. 

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