SNAPSHOT OF SOUTHERN GROUND-HORNBILLS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
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There are approximately 3000 birds left in the wild in southern Africa
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Their distribution extends from as far south as the Eastern Cape in SA all the way up to Kenya
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In South Africa the total number is estimated to be around 1500 birds, most of them occurring here in Kruger National Park as well as the Limpopo River Valley
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Groups comprise an alpha pair as well as numerous male sub-adult helpers. It is not yet fully understood where females go when they leave the group at a young age
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They nest in large cavities in trees, occasionally in cliffs
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They are very competent fliers but they fly low at canopy height
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They are strict carnivores eating snakes, lizards, insects, tortoises, birds
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Their closest relative is the Abyssinian or Northern Ground-Hornbill Bucorvus abyssinicus