Supporting the reproduction of Great Hornbills

Mabula Ground Hornbill Project

Dear difteur-ses,

Thanks to you, the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project has had the joy of reintroducing 7 Leadbeater ground hornbills to South Africa, in areas where the species had become extinct.
A team entirely dedicated to the reintroduction has been set up to accompany these birds in their first steps towards the wild.
The first group to be released is already actively exploring their territory and spending a great deal of time around the artificial nest provided for them.

This success would not have been possible without the involvement of local landowners, who have invested in guaranteeing the safety and future of these emblematic birds.

7 Leadbeater hornbills reintroduced!

Beauval Nature

Dear difteur-ses,

Supported by Beauval Nature since 2013, the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project installs artificial nests to encourage the breeding of Leadbeater ground hornbills in South Africa. The NGO raises the young that would not survive in the wild, raises awareness among villagers and encourages peaceful cohabitation with this bird.

Let's discover together the actions carried out by Mabula in 2024, thanks to your support:

Research and monitoring of ground hornbills

Research projects have expanded, both locally and internationally, thanks to the establishment of partnerships with other NGOs. These have considerably strengthened the monitoring capabilities of Mabula's teams.

Conservation

The installation of artificial nests has continued, notably with 10 new nests built thanks to funding from Beauval Nature. In addition, ex situ breeding for reintroduction purposes is showing encouraging signs: 3 groups of Leadbeater's ground hornbills have shown signs of reproduction.

Threat reduction

An international Hornbills in Trade Database has been created, in partnership with Mandai Nature and MONITOR.
The fight against lead poisoning continues, notably by raising awareness in local communities of the risks and benefits of lead-free ammunition. This work is particularly important given the 7 cases of lead poisoning documented in Leadbeater's ground hornbills in 2024.

10 new nests built for hornbills

Dear difteurs,

In recent months, 3 Leadbeater ground hornbills have been moved to a pre-release area, located in the heart of their future environment. This area, which will welcome them in 2025, lies within the historic range of ground hornbills in South Africa. The release of these three birds is a first step towards its repopulation.

In addition, the Mabula teams attended lectures on reintroduction and genetics. The former enabled the teams to compare their techniques with those of other organizations and discover new approaches. The workshops on genetics updated their knowledge and ensured that the tools used were still relevant and appropriate.

Finally, the rains arrived late this year, pushing back the ground hornbills' breeding season. Fieldwork was therefore postponed by a few weeks.

A big thank you to you, dear donors, for your invaluable support and donations✨

Good news from South Africa

Dear donors,

Two major meetings were organized in South Africa by the NGO Mabula. These brought together over 100 landowners, nature reserve managers, rangers and farmers.
The aim? To put in place a strategy of common fight against one of the main threats to Leadbeater's hornbills: the use of lead ammunition.
In fact, an entire part of an animal shot with this type of ammunition and left behind by the hunter, contains tiny fragments of the bullet. Attracted scavengers, such as vultures or ground hornbills, then consume the poison without realizing it.

Some participants were fully in favor of changing the type of ammunition, while others felt that agriculture and conservation could never coexist. These responses help to guide Mabula's future actions, in terms of raising awareness.

A big thank you for your invaluable support and difts!

Constructive exchanges between owners and conservationists

During the 2023-2024 breeding season, 5 young Leadbeater hornbills were hand-reared by teams from the Baobab Conservation Rearing Centre. Indeed, when females produce a second clutch when a youngster is already in the nest, teams from the NGO Mabula recover the egg in order to raise the youngster that would not survive in the wild. The egg is then entrusted to their partner, the Baobab Centre.
Of the 5 fledglings, 4 are females (RhinoRoad, Caroline, Cruise and Baobab Ridge) and one is a male (York).
The young birds were then put in contact with their adoptive parents, responsible for socializing them. All 5 adoptions went well, even if some of the adults were first-time parents!

Season review: 5 hand-reared youngsters

The Mabula Ground Hornbill Project team received a call that one of the reintroduced birds appeared ill. Once on site, the team did indeed find that two of the birds in the group looked unwell and showed clinical signs of lead poisoning. Diagnosis was swift, as the NGO's teams are unfortunately often confronted with this problem. Indeed, lead poisoning is the biggest threat to Leadbeater's hornbills. How can this happen? Any part of an animal shot with this type of ammunition and left behind by the hunter will contain tiny fragments of the bullet. Attracted scavengers, such as vultures or ground hornbills, then consume the poison without realizing it. The birds were transported to the program's veterinary clinic, where an X-ray showed how a tiny fragment of lead is enough to make these birds extremely ill. The two hornbills were treated and released a week later!

Supporting the reproduction of Great Hornbills

The project

Use of the money