was hoping I would spot a Pygmy Falcon on my last trip to the Namib-Naukluft Park, Namibia’s largest conservation area. Small, spirited and snow-white, the bird appeared as misplaced as an Edelweiss flower in the desert. The Pygmy Falcon soared like a white star, in stark contrast to the dry riverbeds, gravel and grassy plains. Incidentally, the park of 49,768 square kilometres is slightly bigger than Switzerland. The area has at least 190 bird species. While this is also the hunting ground of other birds of prey, such as the much-admired Black-breasted Snake Eagle – not to forget the Black, Booted and Martial Eagle – it is the vultures of the area that recently stirred my interest. Following a global trend, Namibia’s vulture species are all threatened or endangered. In the uncertain times of
