2018-07-11 12:30 - Gabi Zietsman
Eight years since the red-billed
oxpecker was reintroduced to Mountain Zebra National Park on the Cradock side,
all indications show that the species has successfully returned to the region.
The cute little bird you normally
spot feasting on the ticks and flies on wild animals has been spotted regularly
in the park and on surrounding farms - even as far as Graaff-Reinet - and it
all started with a small group of 40 birds introduced to the park in 2010.
Previous reintroductions were made in other conservation areas like Addo
Elephant National Park.
While thriving in place like
Kruger, the oxpecker was wiped out in Eastern Cape in the early 1900s because
while it enjoy snacking down with a wild animal, it also like to take out the
ticks on livestock. Unfortunately, livestock was dipped in toxic chemicals and
the poor critters were poisoned due to their sensitivity to organophosphates
found in these pesticides and other fertilisers.
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