2 vultures born at Pretoria Zoo

PRETORIA -- A Cape vulture and an African white-backed vulture were hatched at the zoo here last week, the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa announced.

Spokeswoman Angeline Cloete said Cape vultures were quite common in southern Africa, but were rare in the rest of the world.

Numbers of Cape vultures are declining because of a reduction in herds of game, improved stock-farming practices, the use of poisons, electrocution on power lines, and reduced breeding success through juvenile mortality.

Cloete said it was the second Cape vulture chick to be born at the National Zoo in the past month. -- Sapa