ATLANTA - Three Oglethorpe University students volunteered to write a brochure to educate fisherman on how to save the kori bustard species, Africa’s heaviest flying bird.

The idea of the brochure came after the Conservation Biology class field trip to the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Wildlife Propagation Facility on Georgia’s St. Catherine’s Island. The island is currently being used by the kori bustard Species Survivorship Plan (SSP) operated out of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

The bustard population is declining due to human activities such as the use of pesticides, conversion of their habitat to farmland, collisions with overhead power lines and hunting the birds for food or for feathers. Though some dangers presented by humans cannot be erased, one of these can be eliminated by using fishing lures made only from captive, naturally molted bustard feathers. The educational brochure maps out these dangers and solutions with easy to understand text and amazing photography.

“This is a great example of our students going far beyond their coursework, applying what they learned (in class) and providing a service to society,” said Oglethorpe University biology professor Roarke Donnelly.

The educational brochure was produced by Oglethorpe students Ben Corey, Deidre Hubbard and graduate Kelly Sands ’05. Kelly hopes, “the brochure will make people, even if only a few, aware of the impact using bustard feathers in fly ties has on these magnificent birds.” The brochure will be mailed with zoo-collected feathers to a feather distributor and will be linked to the SSP website.