Vulture News 73 November 2017 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS, NOTES AND REPORTS Early records of vultures in Zimbabwe David Ewbank Chapel St, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB6 1AE, England
[email protected] http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/vulnew.v73i1.4 In August 1967 the author observed (Donnelly 1985). However, this was a flying White-backed Vulture Gyps in the post-rinderpest era (just) when africanus on the Botleti River, Selous (1896) referred to the Botswana, silhouetted against a "extraordinary absence" of vultures cloud. Vultures were spread out at in the area. regular intervals in all directions There are no reported early forming a watching network, which breeding records of vultures from in earlier times extended over most Zimbabwe (Priest 1933; Dean and of southern Africa. Cape Vultures Milton 2004). However there are a Gyps coprotheres were described as number of sites called "Vulture's ‘abundant’ in southern Matabeleland Hill" in local languages, for example and Mashonaland (Buckley 1974, in Chirisa Game Reserve (17°45’S, Marshall 1900). It is difficult to 28°10’E), which may refer to believe that Cape Vultures (if previous nesting colonies of Cape correctly identified) could be so Vultures (Irwin 1981). Nowadays abundant in early Zimbabwe with vulture breeding is confined to only one small breeding colony. The Hwange National Park (17°44’S, historical absence of vultures in the 26°57’E), south-east Lowveld and Matobo National Park (20°33’S, the Zambezi Valley apart from the 28°30’E) was said to be now erratically used Wabai Hill demonstrated by a horse not being (near Shangani (19°00’S, 29°45’E) pecked clean by vultures in 1896 26 Vulture News 73 November 2017 occupied by Cape Vultures (Mundy 1951) and a colony of seven White- 1997).