14/03/2019
A violent
hailstorm in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal has killed and injured
almost 2,000 falcons.
The vast
majority of the birds involved were Amur
Falcons, although smaller numbers of Red-footed
Falcons and Lesser
Kestrels, which roost among the flocks of Amurs, were also injured. The
birds roost communally in large numbers, meaning freak weather incidents such
as that on Saturday 9 March can potentially be devastating to
wintering populations.
The event
unfolded in the town of Mooi River, situated inland some 140 km north-west of
Durban, late evening on Saturday, where large numbers of falcons roost during
the winter months. Fortunately, volunteers and members of the public were on
hand to transfer hundreds of the injured birds to the FreeMe Wildlife
Rehabilitation KZN branch in nearby Howick throughout the early hours of Sunday
morning, where urgent treatment began.
In total,
1,090 falcons were treated during 18 hours of constant effort by the team
throughout Sunday, with this thought to be the largest single-species rescue
ever made in South Africa. Following assessment and treatment, the first 400
falcons were ringed and released back into the wild on Monday, with this figure
climbing 970 by the end of Wednesday.
However,
it was not all good news. Unfortunately, around 70 of the falcons admitted to
the clinic died, while no fewer than 713 corpses were recovered from beneath
the roosting tree in Mooi River on Sunday. The deceased birds have been
donated to the Durban Natural History Museum, University of KwaZulu Natal and
South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) for DNA, isotope
analysis, gene pool analysis, further research and taxidermy.
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