TITLE: Protocol for mass capturing, handling, and fitting tracking devices and patagial tags on vultures
AUTHORS: M. T. Hirschauer, W. Neser, K. Wolter

[DESCRIPTION]
<div class = "text-blocks"><div class = "text-block">VulPro is a vulture conservation organization in South Africa which has contributed to vulture research and rehabilitation since 2007. The organization’s efforts focus on captive breeding, rehabilitation, and research of the Cape vulture (Gyps coprotheres). The paper describes in detail VulPro’s methods for mass capturing using a specially designed walk-in trap, handling, weighing, collecting blood samples, and fitting patagial tags and tracking devices on vulture species. These protocols were employed with four species of southern African vultures: Cape vulture (Gyps coprotheres), African White-backed vulture (Gyps africanus), Lappet-faced vulture (Torgos tracheliotos), and Hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus), but may be applied with other similar species. </div></div>

[STEPS]
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Working with the bird on its sternum, have one person hold the wing out slightly so that you have room to work but can clearly see the bend in the leading edge of the patagium by the elbow.
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The piercing should be at least one centimeter away from the pro-patagial tendon.
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Avoid all feather follicales and minute blood vessels.
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The patagium should be thin in this region and piercing should not cause any bleeding.
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When the wing is folded, the edge should not touch or interfere with the crease in the bend by the elbow in the leading edge.
To see photographs of the vulture's internal wing anatomy, please see the document attached in the "Description" section.
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Once confirming your placement has not moved, make a piercing in the wing about 2cm away from the leading edge and about 3cm distal from the bend in the leading edge of the vulture's elbow.
The site should be throughouly investigated.
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Using the placement guidelines, find a spot in the patagium without feathers or veins.
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Throughly sanitize the area and piercing equipment with F10 or similiar.
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Place the ‘male’ piercing on the underside of the wing and push it onto the skin so you can verify there are not follicles or veins.
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The dorsal surface of the tag must then be folded over the wing above the piercing site, without moving the male attachment.
?. [Tracking Device Fitting: The Backpack Harness]
Assess the health condition and age of the bird before every fitting. Fat birds require tighter harnesses, while thinner birds' harnesses should be looser. The harness fit is not an exact science and there are no hard and fast rules for varying age classes and body conditions.
The age of the bird must be taken into account before the decision is made to place the tracking device on the bird. It is unacceptable to place a tracking device and harness on a young bird which has not fully developed. Placing a harness and tracking device on a bird which has not stopped bone or feather growth can potentially alter the development of the bird and can cause death.
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Prepare and connect the tracking device to the harness before having a bird in hand.
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Since no harness can be made up in advance due to each being custom fitted to each individual bird, prepare the harness as follows:
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Thread the Teflon® through the rear attachment point of the tracking device and then thread each piece of silicone tubing inside either end of the Teflon® tape.
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Once the silicone has reached the base of the GPS unit and sides are symmetrical, tightly crimp the Teflon® and tubing directly below the rear attachment point to secure the harness in place.
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Make sure the crimp cannot move around the Teflon® and tubing at this point. It has to be crimped firmly in place before starting to fit the device onto a bird. It is important to bunch the Teflon® at the ends to expose and provide access to the silicone tubing .
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Use a team of four and work on a small table of suitable height, allowing everyone easy access to the bird from all sides.
VulPro uses a wooden vulture crate topped with a carpet or towel for comfort.
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Place the vulture on its sternum allowing you to position the device correctly on the bird’s back.
The device should sit centrally between the shoulders on the bird’s back, just below the ruff of the neck feathers.
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Holding the device in place, take the harness straps down the bird’s back and then separate the two straps to between the insides of the bird’s legs.
You will need one person holding each leg in each hand in order to open the legs apart to be able to correctly place the harness between the legs. The bird’s legs should be held backwards towards the person holding the legs.
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Take both the harness straps up the sternum and then around and inside each collar bone.
If using the thin tubing, you can directly thread the Teflon® with tubing through the centre of the tracking device’s attachment point, coming from the top sides of the device and tie a loose knot at this central point in order to allow adjustments to the harness. However, if using the thicker Teflon®, you will not be able to thread the tubing into the attachment point, so must estimate the needed length of silicone tubing (inside the entire length of Teflon® in contact with the bird, up to the GPS unit attachment point) and cut/remove the rest. Each side of removed silicone tubing should be symmetrical. To do this, you will need to bunch the Teflon® to expose the appropriate amount of silicone tubing, cut the tubing, and then pull the Teflon® taught to thread it through the attachment point and create the first temporary knot.
This entire initial process is done with the bird placed on its sternum.
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Check that the device is still correctly in place.
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Lightly crimp one metal ring around the harness straps, joining the two together, leading from the device towards the tail, just above the base of the tail bone.
It is at this point where the tightness of the harness is measured
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Make sure at all times that two fingers above one another can be placed, at an angle, between the bird and the harness at this exact point.
Do not crimp the ring tight just yet as the harness still needs to be adjusted for a perfect fit. At this point, the metal crimp should be able to move up or down along the harness material for adjustment purposes.
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Tighten the crimp at the end before completing  the final knot and releasing the vulture.
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Once the tail bone crimp is in place, carefully turn the bird on its back.
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Take both harness straps and check that they are firmly in place between the inside of each leg.
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Run your hands upwards with the harness straps, preening the feathers under the two straps as you go along.
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Pull the straps together to meet on the lower end of the sternum, about an inch or so from the end and place the last crimp / ring here.
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Make sure the feathers are all running in a comfortable way so that the bird has no risk of irritation after release.
Do not place the crimp higher on the sternum as this will interfere with the crop filling to its capacity during a feast. The placement of this particular crimp is extremely important so as to not interfere with breeding; i.e., incubation of an egg or the crop expansion. Again, do not crimp the metal ring too tight at this point as the ring might have to be adjusted once again. The ring must be firmly crimped in place once the harness is perfect fitted to the bird and before the final knot is glued together.
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Check the tightness of the harness at this point.
If the bird is in good condition, the harness should fit fairly tightly against the bird’s sternum. If the bird is slightly underweight, then the device should be a little looser to allow the bird to gain weight. This has to be evaluated very carefully as every bird is different; there is no hard and fast rule here.
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Turn the bird again carefully over back onto its sternum.
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Now run both your hands on each strap and double-check that the harness is placed correctly inside each of the collar bones and that it has not popped out and is sitting on the bird’s shoulders.
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Check this a few times to be on the safe side.
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Check symmetry and harness tension.
It should now be tight, and you should be able for fit two fingers under the straps between the lower end of the device and the tail crimp. Any looser and there is a risk of the bird getting its head stuck under the straps.
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Once you are satisfied with the tension and symmetry, close the crimps on the rump and sternum.
You will need to turn the bird over and back one last time to do this.
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Once all the metal crimps are tightened so that the rings do not move along the harness, the final knot has to be secured perfectly to prevent the harness from failing.
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To complete the knot at the forward side of the device where you attached the straps together after the collar bones, re-tighten the knot making sure it cannot and will not come undone.
The preferred method is a two twist square knot.
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The knot must then be sewed through with dental tape to secure the knot and the ends of the Teflon® tape.
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Sew through the knot and ends a few times making sure to leave no weak points.
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Place a piece of thick paper or cardboard under the device and super glue the ends and knots all together while pressing the knot into the desired position flat on the device.
The paper/cardboard is used to prevent the glue and the device from sticking to the feathers.
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Complete the process by covering the knot with epoxy.
Baby powder can be used over the epoxy to speed up the drying process. Glue needs to be tack dry before release, and the powder will dehydrate the surface of the glue while the inside is still setting.
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Remove the piece of paper/cardboard before releasing the bird, but avoid pulling it off with the glue as well.
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Pull it off gently or cut around the paper leaving a tiny piece stuck to the device which will, with time, disintegrate.