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Signals from the Skies: What Injured Raptors Tell Us About Our Changing World

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Signals from the Skies: What Injured Raptors Tell Us About Our Changing World

By Erin Adams and Lizanne Roxburgh, conservation planning science unit

raptor conservation threats urban expansion

As cities and infrastructure continue to expand, wildlife is increasingly affected by human activities. These impacts can be direct, such as deliberate persecution, or indirect, through the growth of energy networks and transport systems that leads to accidental mortalities on infrastructure. Understanding how and why animals are injured or killed is an essential step in improving conservation efforts.

One group particularly affected by human expansion is raptors. Raptors consist of birds of prey such as hawks, eagles, kites, harriers, vultures, falcons, and owls. Raptors play an important role in ecosystems because their presence reflects environmental health, and many species also provide valuable services, such as removing carcasses through scavenging. In a recent publication co-authored by EWT scientists*, researchers examined data from wildlife rehabilitation centres around the world to better understand the most common causes of raptor injury and death.

The researchers analysed just under 150,000 wildlife rehabilitation admissions recorded globally between 1989 and 2023. These records included 148 raptor species from multiple continents. For each admission, information was collected on the rehabilitation centre, species, age of the animal (adult, non-adult, or unknown), country and continent, and the year of admission.

Each admission was also classified by injury type (human-related, natural, or unknown) and by the specific cause of injury, where possible. Human-related causes included factors such as habitat destruction, poisoning, vehicle collisions, or contact with infrastructure. Natural causes included events like severe weather, disease, or falls from nests. The final outcome, or fate, of each bird was also recorded, including whether it was released back into the wild, died or was euthanised, remained in permanent care, or had an unknown outcome.

The scientists found that owls made up the largest proportion of admissions, accounting for just over 34% of all records, followed by falcons (24%) and Buteo hawks (22%). This pattern may reflect the ability of these groups to live in or near urban environments.

Overall, 41% of admissions were listed as having an unknown cause, while 39% were linked to human activities and 20% to natural causes. Among the human-related cases, the most frequent causes were unspecified trauma, vehicle collisions, and injuries related to electrical infrastructure or gas flaring.

In terms of outcomes, approximately 57% of admitted raptors died or were euthanised. Around 44% were successfully rehabilitated and released back into the wild, while just under 2% remained in permanent care.

This study highlights how vulnerable raptors are to the pressures associated with urban expansion. The high proportion of cases that do not result in release underscores the seriousness of these threats. As human development continues to grow, it is increasingly important to implement effective conservation strategies that reduce risks to raptors and promote safer shared landscapes for both people and wildlife.

* Panter, C. T., Bullock, H. E., Brown, M., Mori, D., & Thompson, L. J. (2026). Taking the pulse of the world’s raptors—A systematic quantitative review of wildlife rehabilitation centre admissions. Biological Conservation, 316, 111746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2026.111746

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Multispecies Action Plan to conserve Bustards adopted for implementation

By Matt Pretorius, project manager in the Wildlife and Infrastructure Unit

bustard conservation action plan awareness campaign

A global team of bustard experts and conservationists have developed a Multispecies Action Plan to Conserve African, Eurasian, and Australian Bustards to conserve a terrestrial species that includes one of the world’s heaviest flying birds – the Kori Bustard.

The Bustard MsAP, as it is commonly known, was recently adopted at the 15^th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in Brazil – less than a year after it was workshopped in Pakistan.

With the adoption of the blueprint, the real work now starts to conserve a species threatened with extinction.

The actions proposed in the Bustard MsAP will be executed within a period of 11 years (2026 – 2037). There are several key milestones, and a mid-term progress review is planned for 2031 – one year ahead of the 17^th Conference of the Parties – marking the halfway point of the Bustard MsAP’s implementation period.

Bustards Without Borders (BWB) conceptualised and developed the Bustard MsAP, with the primary mission of “catalysing actions for the sustainable conservation of bustards and their habitats, to include on-the-ground conservation activities, training, awareness, population monitoring and research as outlined in the Bustard MsAP”.

BWB is a consortium of individuals, organisations, government institutions and other stakeholders working towards sustainable bustard conservation.

We are now in the first triennium during which a draft workplan is to be finalised and implemented. The Bustard MsAP will be executed within regional subdivisions. The southern African region (region 1) includes 10 countries: Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In general, bustard species richness in southern Africa is high compared to the other regions across Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia, with South Africa having the highest species count (10) of any country within the global range of the family Otididae.

The southern African region boasts 11 bustard species, of which the Ludwig’s Bustard (Neotis ludwigii), classified as globally Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, is the most severely threatened. A recent publication summarising long-term bird road counts cites a decline of 94.3% for the Ludwig’s Bustard within the study area, the highest negative trend among the species recorded by researchers.

The primary threats to bustards include agricultural intensification, collisions with overhead cabling such as power lines, fences, wind turbines, and vehicles, habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation. These birds are also threatened by the illegal trade, mortality from anthropogenically increased predator species, human disturbance, genetic threats, climate change, and legal obstacles. Including missing or ineffective policies, laws and enforcement. A significant challenge is a lack of awareness about bustards and the threats they face. The Bustard MsAP will launch global awareness campaigns, while regional coordinators and in-country participants will promote the work of the MsAP locally.

** Matt Pretorius is a member of BWB, and is the southern African regional coordinator of the Bustard MsAP. Matt works for the EWT’s Wildlife and Infrastructure Unit (WIN), bringing more than a decade’s worth of experience in research related to bustard movements, bustard collisions with power lines and how best to mitigate this threat. In the coming months, he will work to find and recruit suitable in-country partners in each of the different southern African range states to collectively work towards achieving the goals of the MsAP.

Link to download the Bustard MsAP: https://www.cms.int/document/multi-species-action-plan-bustards

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Listening for the Voices: Connecting Traditional Knowledge and Conservation in South Africa

By Kutlwano Mokgoro, Legal Officer in the Wildlife in Trade Unit

Across the country, an important journey is unfolding – one centred not on wildlife sightings or field surveys, but on listening.

Through the Voices of Indigenous Communities on Environmental Sustainability (VOICES) Project, Gogo Nomsa Sibeko of Nature Speaks and Responds and I have been travelling to communities across the country in search of voices – voices of knowledge, experience, and wisdom rooted in traditional healing practices.

What is the Voices Project?

The VOICES Project seeks to better understand the realities faced by traditional healers in South Africa when accessing and using natural resources for traditional medicine. At its core, the project creates a respectful and safe space for healers to speak about their work, their knowledge systems, and the challenges they face in continuing practices that have been part of African healing traditions for generations.

These conversations provide valuable insights into the intersection between cultural heritage, community health, and environmental governance.

Traditional medicine remains a crucial part of healthcare for many communities. Central to its healing properties, however, is access to the natural resources used in Muthi. These include both plants and wildlife derivatives that have long held cultural and medicinal significance.

Through VOICES, we will host workshops across all 9 provinces, bringing together traditional healers eager to have their voices heard. In Tshwane, 15 traditional healers joined the discussion, sharing their experiences and perspectives. In Brakpan, the conversation expanded further with 19 participants, and in Soweto, 10 traditional healers gathered to contribute their voices to the project. Our conversation is continuing in Limpopo.

In each location, traditional healers have welcomed the project team with open arms, eager not only to share their knowledge, but also to listen, learn, and engage in dialogue about conservation and environmental governance.

Healing Resources and Conservation Challenges

Many of the species used in traditional medicine are listed under international and national conservation frameworks, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and South Africa’s Threatened or Protected Species (TOPS) Regulations.

Traditional healing practices rely on derivatives from animals such as lions, leopards, rhinos, and elephants, as well as plants widely used in traditional medicine. These include species such as the African Potato, African Ginger, and Pineapple Lily.

Because many of these resources fall under conservation regulations, healers often feel vulnerable and excluded from the systems that govern the very resources they rely on to treat and heal their communities.

indigenous knowledge biodiversity conservation South Africa meeting

Bridging the Gap Through Dialogue

One of the most revealing preliminary findings from the VOICES Project has been that traditional healers are eager to engage with environmental governance systems, even when they feel those systems have historically excluded them.

Workshops have shown a genuine willingness among healers to learn about conservation laws, protected species regulations, and the frameworks that govern harvesting and trade.

Yet one issue consistently emerges as a major concern: permits.

Permits are crucial for healers, as they allow the lawful harvesting and use of certain species without fear of penalties or discrimination. However, through discussions in communities across Gauteng, the project team has learned that many healers simply do not know where or how to obtain these permits.

This knowledge gap highlights a significant disconnect between environmental governance systems and the communities affected by them.

The Importance of Listening

By travelling to communities and listening directly to healers, the VOICES Project is helping to illuminate these challenges while fostering mutual understanding between conservation actors and traditional healers.

Importantly, the project does not position healers as passive recipients of information, but as knowledge holders and partners in conversations about sustainability, heritage, and community wellbeing.

As the Project continues its journey across South Africa, its mission remains simple but powerful: to listen, to learn, and to ensure that the voices of traditional healers are heard in conversations about conservation and environmental governance. The insights gathered through the project will be consolidated into a report to be published on the EWT’s LAWS (Land, Air, Water and Species) platform and formally shared with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. In doing so, the project aims to inform more inclusive, practical, and culturally responsive policy and regulatory approaches – particularly in relation to permitting systems and access to medicinal resources – while recognising traditional healers as key stakeholders in the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity.

VOICES Project traditional healers community engagement Gauteng

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The Applied Conservation Genetics Unit (ACGU) – a collab between the Endangered Wildlife Trust and Stellenbosch University

Dr Samantha Theron, EWT Conservation Researcher

In January 2023, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and Stellenbosch University (SU) joined hands in establishing a molecular laboratory focused on applied conservation genetic research of threatened and endangered African wildlife.

The Applied Conservation Genetics Unit (ACGU), led by Prof Conrad Matthee (SU) and I, employs the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) to detect organisms in the wild and metabarcoding approaches to identify species, and map distributions. Additionally, population genetic and genomic approaches are used to investigate effective population sizes, population stability, resilience and subpopulation connectivity.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is genetic material that organisms leave behind in their environment. This DNA can be collected from environmental samples like water or soil, allowing the unit to detect species without capturing or disturbing them.

Traditional biodiversity assessments often rely on trapping, direct observation, or specialist field surveys. These methods can be time-consuming, costly, and limited in their ability to detect rare or cryptic species. eDNA has been gaining traction over the past few years as a powerful tool to deliver fast, non-invasive biodiversity insights, without disturbing wildlife.

The ACGU has been employing this tool to detect the presence of elusive, rare, or threatened terrestrial wildlife, and to support broader biodiversity monitoring efforts. This advanced approach has proven useful in (a) detecting species even when there are no visible signs of their presence, (b) identifying multiple species from a single environmental sample, and (c) providing reliable biodiversity data across time and space.

Numerous projects have focused on targeted surveys for elusive or threatened species, including the “Elusive Eight” (Aardvark, Aardwolf, Brown Hyena, Riverine Rabbit, Cape Leopard, Cape Mountain Zebra, Karoo Dwarf Tortoise and Ludwig’s Bustard), subterranean golden moles, threatened tortoises and Cape Stag Beetles.

More recently, we have started to employ eDNA in biodiversity surveys across various remote, species-rich regions of Southern and East Africa. Biodiversity surveys are essential for conservation, especially in these remote regions where biodiversity baselines and species data are typically limited and, in many instances, absent. Given the lack of local expertise and the vastness of these African landscapes, conventional biodiversity surveys are often logistically complex, time-intensive, and taxonomically limited. eDNA offers a non-invasive way to rapidly identify and document species and capture a snapshot of biodiversity in a defined area.

The EWT has undertaken a number of Bioblitzes in a focused effort to provide a comprehensive snapshot of local biodiversity that can contribute to informed conservation strategies. A BioBlitz is an intensive, time-constrained biological survey involving eDNA approaches alongside traditional approaches with specialists and volunteers, in the systematic documentation of biodiversity. The eDNA data generated provides a foundation for mapping biodiversity hotspots, identifying conservation gaps, and supporting conservation strategies, and could even uncover species previously unknown to science.

An example of this is the rediscovery of the De Winton’s Golden Mole using eDNA in 2023. This elusive mole had not been seen for more than 80 years.

Through innovative genetic tools and collaborative conservation planning, fostering local stewardship of natural resources and strengthened local conservation capacity, the ACGU is transforming how threatened species are detected, monitored and protected in Southern Africa, and establishing baseline biodiversity data to address key gaps in biodiversity knowledge in various focal areas within and across Southern- and East Africa.

For more information on the projects being undertaken, visit: acgu.earth/projects

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Why the IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment Matters

By Suzanne Powell and Catherine Kuhn of the EWT’s Biodiversity and Business Unit

We can no longer afford to overlook nature on a continent where many economies are expanding, infrastructure investment is accelerating, and global markets are demanding stronger environmental performance across value chains. At the same time, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) calls on governments and businesses to take coordinated, transformative action to halt biodiversity loss while strengthening resilience and development outcomes.

Hosted by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in collaboration with the South Africa Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), the two-day forum provided delegates with an opportunity to exchange ideas, learn from each other and create future collaborative opportunities to solve problems related to the inclusion of environmental practices into business in line with, amongst other, the Global Biodiversity Framework’s Target 15. This target aims to progressively reduce the negative impacts and increase the positive impacts of business on biodiversity and to encourage more sustainable patterns of production.

Among the key presentations was the unpacking and evaluation of a recently released report that highlighted the fact that the cost of the growth of the global economy has been at the cost of immense biodiversity loss. This now poses a critical and pervasive systemic risk to the economy, financial stability and human well-being.

The landmark global assessment places biodiversity firmly at the centre of business risk, responsibility and opportunity. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released the Business and Biodiversity Assessment: Summary for Policymakers. Among its authors was the EWT’s head of Sustainability, Kishaylin Chetty. His involvement reflects the growing contribution of African expertise to global conversations on the biodiversity-business interface.

The assessment comes at a critical time when evidence shows that biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people are declining across the globe.

Prepared under IPBES by 79 experts from 35 countries, and drawing on more than 5,000 references, this assessment carries significant scientific and policy weight as the first global IPBES assessment dedicated specifically to business and biodiversity. The report was approved through the IPBES Plenary by representatives of the Platform’s more than 150 member Governments on 9 February 2026, giving the assessment particular international authority.

So what does the assessment reveal? Here are five key insights that show why this report matters:

Nature is a systemic part of the economy

All businesses depend on biodiversity, whether directly or indirectly. Extensive evidence indicates that more than 50% of global GDP depends on nature. While sectors like agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism depend directly on biodiversity, other industries are indirectly dependent through their value chains. Raw materials, energy sources, and ecosystem services are all part of modern economies.

As awareness grows, biodiversity loss is increasingly recognised as a systemic risk to economies and financial systems, with serious consequences for financial stability and human wellbeing.

Money is still flowing in the wrong direction

Estimates suggest that globally, only around US$220 billion per year is directed toward biodiversity conservation and restoration, while a staggering US$7.3 trillion flows into nature-negative activities annually. At the same time, current economic incentives continue to lock in harmful activities, reinforcing this stark imbalance. More broadly, today’s business environment is not always compatible with a just and sustainable future, with unsustainable outcomes structurally embedded through perverse incentives, harmful subsidies and the failure to account for biodiversity impacts.

Momentum is growing

Globally, fewer than one percent of publicly listed companies disclose their impacts and dependencies on biodiversity. While this number is growing as awareness increases and frameworks such as the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) gain wider adoption, it raises a more fundamental question: what is actually changing for nature on the ground?

If most companies are not yet measuring or disclosing their impacts, it becomes difficult to know where biodiversity is being lost, and whether actions are contributing to positive conservation outcomes. Compounding this is the lack of independent verification which makes it hard to distinguish between meaningful action and tangible and credible improvements for biodiversity. Businesses need to ask themselves: Are ecosystems recovering? Are pressures on ecosystems being reduced? Are our actions contributing to harm or to positive outcomes? And how are we tracking this to ensure credibility and to avoid greenwashing?

The tools to act are already in place

A common assumption is that limited data is the main reason businesses are not acting on biodiversity. The report challenges this. While biodiversity measurement is complex, many methods already exist to help businesses understand their impacts and dependencies. The real challenge lies in using the correctly aligned approach method.

The report provides a robust guidance table to help companies select the correct method for a particular purpose at the appropriate decision-making level, whether for risk screening, comparing options or assessing impacts on the ground.

The assessment also identifies more than 25 actions businesses can take across strategy, operations, value chains and investment decisions. This includes embedding biodiversity into strategy, reducing impacts, improving supply chain transparency and shifting capital toward nature-positive outcomes.

Transforming the system will require collective effort

Many current incentives still reward activities that harm nature. While business action has historically been driven by regulation, real change requires shifting the system itself. Businesses can help shape an enabling environment by influencing suppliers, partners and markets. Governments are also central to this shift, setting the rules through policy, regulation and incentives. Civil society plays a vital role in building capacity, monitoring progress and holding actors accountable.

Ultimately, transforming the system requires collective action to ensure that positive outcomes for nature become the norm.

In closing, the message is clear: what is good for biodiversity is also good for long-term economic stability and business resilience. Through collaboration, shared responsibility, and an enabling environment, businesses can become part of the solution to shaping a just and sustainable future.

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Cross-border collaboration supports the rewilding of orphaned cheetahs

By Olivia Sievert, Project coordinator, Cheetah Conservation Project

In conservation, success often depends on collaboration, careful planning, and the ability to respond quickly to unexpected events. Over the past year, the EWT, together with partners including The Bateleurs and the Ukuzwana Foundation, has been involved in a cross-border effort to give two orphaned cheetah cubs a second chance. What began as two unrelated incidents in Malawi and South Africa became a coordinated project to return both animals to the wild.

In July 2025, a female Cheetah that had been introduced to strengthen the population in Liwonde National Park was killed by Lions, leaving behind two female cubs estimated to be around six-months-old. At this age, cubs are still dependent on their mother, and survival without intervention is unlikely. Because the female represented important genetic contributions to both the park and the broader managed Cheetah metapopulation, park management, with support from the EWT, initiated a hands-off rehabilitation and rewilding plan. When the cubs were found and subsequently rescued, however, they were severely malnourished, and only one survived.

At roughly the same time in South Africa, a separate incident resulted in another orphan. A female Cheetah sustained a severe hunting injury on a reserve in Limpopo and had to be humanely euthanised, leaving behind a female cub of approximately seven-months-old, later named Mara.

In the wild, Cheetah cubs typically remain with their mother for more than a year, after which siblings stay together for several months while learning to hunt independently. These sibling associations can play an important role in early survival. For this reason, a plan was developed to attempt to form a social bond between the two orphaned females. If successful, the intention was to rewild them together and ultimately return them to Malawi to boost the population there.

International translocation of Cheetahs is not an easy feat; it requires multiple permits, veterinary clearances, and coordination between the authorities of both countries. Over several months, the EWT worked with both government and non-government partners to facilitate the movement. Once ready, The Bateleurs provided essential aviation support, enabling our team to travel to Malawi, collect the orphaned cub, and transport her safely to South Africa for bonding and rewilding.

Given their age, both females were taken to a specialised veterinary facility near Nelspruit, where they were gradually introduced. Introductions between unfamiliar Cheetahs must be managed carefully, but in this case, the two females quickly accepted each other, allowing the project to proceed to the next phase.

Following veterinary care, the pair were moved to a reserve managed by the Ukuzwana Foundation in Mpumalanga for rewilding. The reserve supports suitable prey species while maintaining relatively low densities of large predators, with Leopard and Brown Hyena present but no Lions. This provides an excellent environment for the young Cheetahs to develop their hunting skills with reduced risk compared to more predator-dense systems.

Rewilding requires close monitoring to ensure the animals are hunting successfully and maintaining condition while remaining fully independent. Therefore, both females have been fitted with satellite-tracking collars, allowing the team to monitor their movements, assess hunting attempts, and confirm kills. The collars will remain on the Cheetahs when they are relocated back to Malawi so that post-release monitoring can continue.

If progress continues as expected, the rewilding phase will run through mid-year, after which the aim is to move the pair back to Liwonde National Park before the onset of the hot season. Their return will contribute to the genetic and demographic stability of the park’s Cheetah population and will provide further insight into the use of hands-off rewilding for orphaned individuals.

This project highlights the importance of cooperation between conservation organisations, protected area authorities, and technical partners. The rapid response in Malawi, aviation support from The Bateleurs, and the rewilding environment provided by the Ukuzwana Foundation have all been essential to the process.

Orphaned cheetah cub being transported by conservation team

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