Shannon Hoffman | Nikela: Helping People Saving Wildlife

Would You Do This For a Few Bearded Vulture Eggs?

Aug 18, 2021 · by Wildlife Margrit · In: Raptors Tagged: Bearded Vulture, bred 4 the wild, Shannon Hoffman

When soaring high above the cliffs the Bearded Vulture can easily be mistaken for an eagle. This magnificent bird is a bone eater and on the brink of extinction. Would you scale sheer cliffs to grab a Bearded Vulture egg? Every winter in South Africa Shannon Hoffman and her team venture into the Drakensberg and Maloti Mountains. These rugged mountains with sheer cliffs are home to some of the last remaining Bearded Vultures in Southern Africa. Here these gorgeous birds fly like eagles looking for bones. Like other vultures they are part of nature’s clean up crew. Unlike other…

VIDEO: Nikela’s 11th Anniversary How it all Started

Apr 8, 2021 · by Wildlife Margrit · In: #LuvWildlife, Raptors Tagged: African Bird of Prey Sanctuary, African lions, charity, Nikela anniversary, nonprofit, Shannon Hoffman

It’s Nikela’s 11th anniversary! What a ride it’s been! It’s amazing to look back at how one crucial encounter triggered it all. This one experience catapulted two ordinary people, like Russ and I, to start a nonprofit charity to help people saving wildlife. Although Nikela has remained small and volunteer run we’ve distributed over $85,000 to 24 projects in eight African countries. How it all started… with a bird? In early 2009 Russ, and I visited the African Bird of Prey Sanctuary close to where my parents lived, in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. This sanctuary cares for falcons, hawks, kites,…

What Drives This Wildlife Hero? The Gift of a Life Saved

Nov 19, 2019 · by Russ · In: Raptors Tagged: Bearded Vulture, bred 4 the wild, Shannon Hoffman, wildlife heroes

Only for the glory, recognition, big bucks, becoming world renowned, receiving international awards, and having a tombstone inscribed with “Here lies the greatest conservationist of the century.” None of our wildlife heroes began with or live this mindset. For all of them, it is the gift of a life saved and bonding to that living creature through the process that keeps them going. Ten years ago, Shannon changed our hearts leading us down the path to Nikela and the adventures of helping people saving wildlife. She wows the public with the wonder of her rescued birds of prey, converting many…

The Bearded Lady on a Journey to Save an Endangered Species

Oct 1, 2019 · by Wildlife Margrit · In: Raptors Tagged: Bearded Vulture, breeding program, saving endangered species, Shannon Hoffman

It’s January 2014 (this was pre Land Rover) and we’re in our little red rental car. Finally we’re going to meet the Bearded Lady. We heard about her in 2012 when she was rescued from a chicken coop and we rallied Nikela supporters to help build her a comfortable enclosure at Shannon’s African Raptor Center. Affectionately called the Bearded Lady, she really is a Bearded Vulture. Albeit a very beautiful one. Unlike other vultures who eat dead meat these vultures eat the bones. Isn’t nature’s clean up system amazing? Because she was confined to a chicken coop for so long…

Why saving the Bearded Lady is about saving her entire species of Lammergeier

Nov 14, 2018 · by Wildlife Margrit · In: Raptors Tagged: African Bird of Prey Sanctuary, Bearded Vulture, Lammergeier, Shannon Hoffman

When Shannon saved the Bearded Lady she had no idea what was in store for her and the future of the critically endangered Lammergeier. “In a chicken coop!” How sad. This magnificent high flying bird of prey confined to a small wire cage. Okay, she’s a vulture, but undeniably the most beautiful raptor you can imagine. And entitled to the life of a free Bearded Vulture. Shannon, the keeper of the African Bird of Prey Sanctuary, is one of our wildlife heroes. Her passion, since she was a youngster, has been the lions of the skies, Africa’s fabulous birds of…