The Vulture Lady of the Eastern Cape

For decades, Kate Webster has been involved in not only rehabilitating Cape vultures, but also fighting for their protection in an ever-increasing hostile environment. Mike Burgess spoke to her about her life's work.

- Mike Burgess

Ask anybody in the Eastern Cape who can care for injured vultures, and the most likely answer will be Kate Webster from Komani.

Webster, known by some as The Vulture Lady, has rehabilitated hundreds of vultures, raptors (including owls) and even storks, cranes, and geese on her farm Rookwood before releasing them back into the wild. "It is the best feeling ever, to give it (a rehabilitated bird) a second chance at life," she says.

Webster started her self-funded rehabilitation programme on Rookwood in the early 2000s with the construction of aviaries attached to some old outbuildings.

She made a point of asking Kerri Wolter for guidance years before she established Vulpro (in North West in 2007), a respected nonprofit organisation devoted to safeguarding Africa‘s vultures.

Consequently, Webster and Wolter have worked closely together over the years, and numerous seriously injured vultures collected by Webster in the Eastern Cape and Free State have eventually found their way to Vulpro for specialised rehabilitation.

Today, Webster is the Eastern Cape associate for Vulpro and she is involved in their impressive captive breeding programmes, not only in the Magaliesberg, but also at Vulpro Shamwari in the Eastern Cape.

DANGEROUS WORLD FOR VULTURES