Raptor Rescue Plett

Just before the recent storms hit, this young Knysna Turaco nestling was admitted into our care through the team at Knysna Veterinary Clinic. With prolonged power outages and difficult conditions, it was unfortunately impossible to completely avoid direct human contact, as the youngster required a more hands-on approach.

We are however delighted with the progress this beautiful bird has made. Having grown well, it has now been ringed and moved to an outdoor hack-release aviary. The aviary is situated in an area frequented by wild Knysna Turacos, which are regularly provided with supplementary food. Our hope is that the youngster will begin to recognise its own species, become familiar with their calls and behaviour, and gradually integrate with the local population.

For now the young Turaco is safe in the capable hands of a trusted friend and fellow birder, where it will continue to receive support feeding while enjoying a more natural environment. Although some degree of human habituation was unavoidable, we remain hopeful that, like the wild turacos already visiting the area, it will adapt well and thrive in its surroundings.

Special thanks to Mark Brown from Conserve Eden for fitting an identification ring, and to Stephen Van Wyk for his assistance with the slow-release process.

🦅 Storm Recovery Update 🦅
A huge thank you to everyone who has supported Raptor Rescue Plett over the past few weeks. Your generosity, together with the dedication of our volunteers, has helped us through an extremely challenging period. Thanks to your support, work has now begun on rebuilding and upgrading our African Fish Eagle enclosure, as well as constructing a new gravity-fed header tank system to safeguard our water supply during future power outages. Foundations are being dug, support poles are going up, and for the first time since the storms, we can finally see progress.
🙏Special thanks to our hardworking teams on the ground, and to Cecil Monk and Frank Lohmaier, whose skill and craftsmanship have helped bring these projects to life. We can highly recommend their workmanship, and Frank can be contacted on 072 356 3526 for any project, big or small. We are also incredibly grateful to everyone who has donated materials, they are already making a real difference.
🙏To everyone who has donated, a very big thank you. If you made a contribution without using your email address as a reference, please email us at [email protected] so that we can thank you personally. Although significant progress has been made, we are still short of the funds needed to complete our projects, and will be launching a fundraising campaign soon, please share our campaign and follow our progress. Donations can also be made directly via EFT or at our reception.

Plett Raptor Conservation NPC
First National Bank
Account Number: 63000514067
Branch Code: 210514
SWIFT Code: FIRNZAJJ
Reference: Your email address

For those wanting to get involved in a more hands-on way, join us for our upcoming volunteer weekends on 20–21 June and 27–28 June. To stay informed and join the team, please drop us a WhatsApp message to be added to our volunteer group. 078 135 3611
We have been closed to the public since 5 May, and our hope is to reopen our doors in time for the July school holidays. Please help us make this possible. Together, we are rebuilding and continuing to provide a lifeline to the Garden Route’s magnificent birds of prey. ❤️🦅