Help for âsuper smartâ bird
By Duncan Guy
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The isiZulu-speaking areas of South Africa have the largest population of Southern ground hornbills after the Kruger National Park.
So says Limpopo-based ornithologist Lucy Kemp, who this week won a prestigious international Whitley Award for her work on the large black, red-faced birds that, in half a generation, have gone from endangered to critically endangered.
The belief among traditional Zulus that the bird they call
iNsingizi â or the onomatopoeic
Ingududu â brings rain has been their saving grace.
âFor subsistence farmers theyâre most important,â said Kemp. âHowever, there are areas where the traditions have eroded.â