On the role of the shape and size of foraging area, and colony size, in selecting critical areas for Cape Griffon Gyps coprotheres conservation action.

Abstract

The Cape Griffon (vulture) Gyps coprotheres, which is endemic to southern Africa, has, despite some conservation action, undergone a marked decrease in range and numbers in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Further such action is now urgently required to halt, and even reverse, this decline. For any strategic conservation plan for this species to succeed, it is necessary to identify those sites or areas where ‘on-theground’ conservation action must be focused. This exercise should take into account, inter alia, key biological and ecological parameters for the species in question. Noting that the breeding segment of a population is critical for its survival into the future, this article discusses the role of the shape and size of the mean daily foraging area for griffons at active breeding colonies as a means of identifying areas where conservation action should be focused. It transpires that a circular range, with a radius of 40 km (centred on the active breeding colony) realistically identifies these key foraging areas in the grassland-dominated Eastern Cape. The article also makes a case for the largest (according to number of active breeding pairs) active colonies being a higher priority for conservation action than the smaller ones, and, consequently, the active colonies in the Eastern Cape are ranked from largest to smallest.