Bucorvus leadbeateri Southern Ground Hornbill Bromvoël
Mabula Game Reserve, Mar 2019
It is assumed that this long-lived, endangered species occurred historically in the Waterberg but there are no recent records of naturally-occurring birds from here. In 2012 the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project (www.ground-hornbill.org.za) released two birds into the wild on Mabula Game Reserve, one captive-bred, the other a rehabilitated male from a poisoning incident. These formed the nucleus of a free-living group that currently numbers five birds (photos alongside) that have established their territory on Mabula and neighbouring properties. They have not yet bred but hopes are high that in the 2019-2020 summer they'll get their act together.
Their calls:
Female: "I'm going, I'm going, back to my family"
Male: "Go! Go! You've been saying that for a long time."
It is assumed that this long-lived, endangered species occurred historically in the Waterberg but there are no recent records of naturally-occurring birds from here. In 2012 the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project (www.ground-hornbill.org.za) released two birds into the wild on Mabula Game Reserve, one captive-bred, the other a rehabilitated male from a poisoning incident. These formed the nucleus of a free-living group that currently numbers five birds (photos alongside) that have established their territory on Mabula and neighbouring properties. They have not yet bred but hopes are high that in the 2019-2020 summer they'll get their act together.
Their calls:
Female: "I'm going, I'm going, back to my family"
Male: "Go! Go! You've been saying that for a long time."
