The carnivorous birds in Africa are facing the verge of extinction. Without vultures around, pests and scavengers will also increase, thus endangering also the health of people and their livestock.
A study by the conservation group BirdLife International for the International Union of Conservation of Nature's "Red List of Threatened Species," reported that six out of the eleven vulture species were facing annihilation. Among the six, four of which were upgraded from endangered to critically endangered status. The list includes Necrosyrtes monachus (the hooded vulture), Gyps africanus (the white-backed vulture), Trigonoceps occipitalis (the white-headed vulture) and Gyps rueppellii (Rüppell's Vulture).
They found that there are three primary reasons to such dreadful news. First, big birds like vultures have become poison targets of alleged poachers. With the killing of other wild animals, vultures that eat their carcasses are killed by the hazardous chemicals. Second, in the western and southern parts of Africa, body parts of vultures have been utilized as a source of alternative medicine. A study revealed that this practice accounted for about 29 per cent of the bird's death. And lastly, poachers directly target them. Circling of vultures on carcasses may alert police and locate easily locate their illegal activities.
"Vultures are important. They come in, they clean up and they leave... Other scavengers like rats and jackals will eat a carcass and then will go after livestock or become a pest to humans. And if vultures are removed, their numbers can increase," Ross Wanless of BirdLife Africa told Reuters.
With all these in line, African program director of BirdLife International said that "there is still just enough time for conservationists to work with law-makers, faith-based organizations, government agencies and local people, to make sure there is a future for these magnificent scavengers."
Aside from Africa's vultures, there are 40 other birds that are highly or categorized as critically endangered in this year's Red List.
