Community Conservation Fellow - Morocco 2024 - English
I was delighted to be selected as one of 32 people from around the world as a Community Conservation Fellow by the Global Diversity Foundation (GDF). The Fellowship was a special opportunity to participate in the “International Conference on Biodiversity and Cultural Landscapes” in the ancient city of Marrakesh in Morocco. This was organised on behalf of the International Society for Ethnobiology and provided various types of conservation training by GDF.
This was my first visit to Morocco. I’ve noticed the name of the country during football games.
When I was planning to travel to Morocco, Jbel Moussa was a place I was keen to go to. 'Jebel' means mountain in Arabic. This place is the confluence of Kurinji (Mountains) and Neithal (Coastal) landscapes, located along the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea. I remember reading about the Strait of Gibraltar in my school geography lesson - we were asked to identify this location of the Strait on the map.
Another fact about this place is common for immigrants to use this region, a distance of 14 km separating Africa and Europe. So it’s always under surveillance. Many people have died trying to cross this area. (I once had a conversation with a friend about why the mass media don't cover stories about countries like Morocco. He laughed at me).
In ancient Roman mythology, Hercules is known as the champion of the weak and a great protector. Once upon a time, one had to cross Mount Atlas to get to the Hesperides Gardens on the island of Erytheia. Instead of climbing the mountain, Hercules used his strength and power to create the Strait of Gibraltar to connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea. One half of the split mountain was called Gibraltar and the other was called Jebel Musa. These two mountains together are called the Pillars of Hercules.
Why did I choose to go to Jebel Musa?. In Morocco, GREPOM/Birdlife Maroc ( https://www.grepom.org/) is working diligently to protect Vultures. I had the chance to read Mr. Jack Turdoff’s post on CEPF's social media page about them and I learned that the organisation is collaborating with cattle herding communities to add value to the milk from their cattle, raise awareness among young people, and conduct activities related to wildlife and animal protection.
Since ‘Arulagam’ has carried out a similar program in Tamil Nadu, I wanted to learn more about the work they are doing in Morocco. So I informed Jack Turdoff, CEPF manager and Chris Bowden (Manager, SAVE) that I’d like to visit the centre. They made my journey simple and helped by informing the manager of the centre, Mr. Rachid, about Arulagam’s work and my interest in their conservation work. Mr. Rachid, is also founding member of AMPOVIS (Association for the protection of birds and wildlife).
After the Biodiversity and Cultural landscape conference, I googled how to reach to Jebel Musa, and found that the place was 650 kilometres away from Marrakesh where I was staying. It displayed two routes to get there. One is to go through the Moroccan capital of Rabat and the other longer one- visit the Sahara desert and go through the ancient cities of Fes and Chefchaouen.
I decided to take the second route, spending a day in each of the towns, and after four days I arrived in Tetouan. Most people here only speak Arabic, French and Spanish. So, I called Rashid to help translate the directions to reach Jebel Musa. He asked me to handover the phone to the taxi driver. As per his instructions, the taxi dropped me off in the centre of Fnideq city. I looked at the map. My destination was still 17 kilometres away. I stood looking at the Seagulls flying overhead, wondering how to get there.
I was near the Mediterranean Sea which was calm. The day I was there, happened to be a Sunday, a weekly holiday, so there were young people and students playing enthusiastically on the football field. I let the Manager Mr. Rachid know about my arrival and sent him my location.
He asked me to wait and, to my surprise, said he would be there in ten minutes to pick me up in his Mitsubishi vehicle.
On the way, he stopped at a butcher and bought some meat to feed the Vultures and loaded it into the vehicle. As we were on our way to the port city of Tangier, he spotted two students standing on the side of the road and stopped the car. After talking to them in Arabic, he gave them ice cream and chocolate and resumed driving. When asked what these students were doing, he said that they had just seen a bird of prey's nest and were volunteering to guard it so that no one else would disturb the nest. He also mentioned that he did this to motivate and cheer them up. During the drive, I spotted vultures circling in the sky and asked if we could stop to take a picture. He suggested that I could go to the centre to capture some photos. it. The vehicle took a right onto a narrow road and stopped in front of the Vulture Rescue Centre.
When I got out of the cab, I couldn't believe my eyes. In the centre we could see the Vultures at a close range. It was an exciting sight to behold.
If you want to see vultures in Tamil Nadu, you have to make an effort, and even then it is a bit difficult to see them up close. As soon as they see us, they leave the place, even if they are feeding. They tend not to like human presence. But here it was the opposite. There were more than 300 vultures all around me - in the sky, in the trees, on the ground and on the rocks.
It was an exciting sight to behold. I had the opportunity to see the Eurasian Vulture, Ruppell's Vulture, African White-backed Vulture and the Cinereous Vulture. And in this, Eurasian Vultures were abundant. Rachid mentioned that the numbers are high as the Vultures are coming in for the migratory season now. Cinereous Vulture was also a resident there.
By the time we arrived, a pig carcass had been sent to the camp by the forest department. Perhaps the pig went to some farm to feed where it might have been shot. I learned that as Muslims do not eat pork, it was brought into the camp and to be fed to the Vultures. Similarly, even if cows die while transporting them to the slaughterhouse, they are also sent to the centre. It becomes a good opportunity for vultures. Yet, it was like corn kernels for an elephant’s hunger. He also noted that there is a huge shortage of prey.
He showed me around the centre and took me to the observation deck. From there it was even simpler to see the Vultures. I was also able to take a photo. It was amazing to see them competing with each other for food while making clicking noises. In the centre was a Eurasian vulture in a cage. It looked feeble, lacking strength. It was fed with liver with a protein mix.
That evening he took me to the Jebel Musa ridge, also known as the Pillars of Hercules, located along the Straits of Gibraltar. There, he showed Eurasian Griffons nesting and nesting from a distance. I was amazed to see it. What he said after that was even more heartening - He said that I was only the third person in Morocco to see these Vultures in the nesting site - the others being Mr. Rachid himself and his assistant who had recorded the nesting site earlier.
I expressed my gratitude by saying thanks to him in Arabic - “Shukran” for giving me this opportunity. At night we discussed the conservation work they were doing and watched a documentary about Morocco.
In the days leading up to my trip to Morocco, work-related stress was making it difficult for me to sleep and I even considered turning my trip around. However, when I woke up the next morning, Mr. Rachid’s words lifted my spirits and eased my relentless stress. He said, "Today we’re going to tag three vultures. The preparations are all complete, and your interest will be realised.
I wondered how to describe this wonderful opportunity, perhaps with Tamil Proverbs “Fruit slipped into the milk' or 'The crow sat and the palm fruit fell’. This was a surprising and unexpected turn of events in my journey.
He said 14 vultures at the centre have been fitted with GPS devices so far and is tracking data like where they go, pointing out that a previously GPS-tagged bird is currently in Senegal.
He was busy with various preparatory tasks on the computer before installing the GPS device. He secured the device on all four sides with duct tape and placed it on the table. The station attendant then carefully brought in the African white-backed vulture. He attached the device to the vulture's back and threaded the strap through its leg, securing it in a way that wouldn't hinder the bird’s flight.
He used glue to prevent the knot from untying. He did this carefully by placing a small board underneath so that the glue wouldn't leak onto the feathers. While he was doing this, the Vulture pecked his elbow and blood oozed from it. But regardless of that, he was focussed on his work. That day, we banded two African White-backed Vultures and then we were prepared to band the Cinereous vulture next. But since its weight was only 3.45 kg, we thought that the fitting would not give proper results, so we fitted only the ring on the leg and released the Vulture.
While we were working, a couple of Eurasian vultures began fighting over food, and one of the birds unexpectedly lost an eye and throbbed with pain. Mr. Rachid quickly attended to it, providing medicine and bandaging the wound, and I had the opportunity to assist him. The medical aid was ineffective, and despite our efforts, the bird soon succumbed to its injuries.
I asked him about other threats to the vultures here. He listed several: being killed by wind turbines and power lines, being hunted for food and a lack of prey. He mentioned that cattle herders had once seen a stranger hunting six vultures.
Across Asia, Africa, and Europe, vultures face various challenges. It’s encouraging to see dedicated individuals like Mr. Rachid working to protect these birds worldwide.
