54 countries covering more than 13 million square kilometers– Africa is a
mosaic of cultures and growing economies.
Future economic growth will depend on
expanding infrastructure, improving healthcare, and increasing municipal services.
One service often overlooked that transcends political boundaries is
carcass and organic waste disposal– a service provided... by vultures.
-- If vultures disappear from the space, there'll be lots of carcasses there.
Where are we going to take them?
-- African vultures span the continent. Many species travel rapidly over long distances
identifying carcasses from the air, as they follow herd animals like wildebeest and zebras.
The Egyptian Vulture can migrate over 6,000 kilometers twice a year.
Here are the paths traveled by four individuals.
The Hooded Vulture travels shorter distances. In West Africa it is
found mostly in cities and towns where it disposes of carrion and other waste.
Here two individuals work in communities in the Gambia.
The White-backed Vulture soars above the savanna covering wide ranges in search of food.
This individual flew from Botswana to Tanzania in the span of four months.
Vultures are highly specialized and efficient scavengers. Their powerfully
acidic stomachs neutralized bacteria found in decaying and diseased animals.
-- We understand they're not pretty, but they provide a vital service and that
service is they get rid of carcasses which would potentially spread diseases
to livestock, to other wildlife, to humanity– and they provide this service for free.
-- And yet these creatures who play an overlooked role in our economy
are one of the most threatened groups of terrestrial birds on the planet.
Mali. Hooded Vultures which clean waste at dumpsites have not been seen in
Bamako since 2003. Over the past 50 years they have declined across Africa by 83%.
Angola. White-backed Vultures that once disposed of wildebeest carcasses have
disappeared from the country. They've declined by 90% across the continent.
Chad. White-headed Vultures are almost entirely confined to
protected areas. Throughout Africa, their population has plummeted by 96%.
Sudan. Rüppell's Vultures, like all vultures, take up to six years to reach sexual maturity
and when they do reproduce, have few offspring.
Their populations have decreased across Africa by 97%.
The collapse of vulture populations is widespread and common.
We are now living in the midst of the African Vulture Crisis– a wide-scale
event with many causes: Loss of habitat for nesting, roosting, and foraging,
the trade in vulture body parts, and electrocutions and collisions with an
expanding energy infrastructure are key issues. But the single greatest threat
to African vultures is poison– contributing to over 60% of all vulture deaths.
-- If we manage the issue of poisoning then we have managed a bigger percentage of the
threats that are affecting vultures.
-- Vultures are especially vulnerable to
the widespread misuse of inexpensive toxic pesticides because hundreds of
them can unwittingly feed on a single poisoned carcass.
Eventually these toxins cascade through the ecosystem, threatening other
wildlife, finding their way into the soil and water of our communities.
-- If the elephant is poisoned for example, then vultures can feed, lions can feed,
jackals can feed so a whole lot of animals can die.
-- It's a huge risk that people really don't understand.
It's not only going to affect vultures, it's not only going to affect carnivores.
It affects livestock, it eventually affects humans.
-- As vultures decline, the services
they provide also decline. And in the absence of vultures, populations of
less specialized scavengers may increase. Scientists think the consequences could
be far-reaching.
--As vultures populations further decline, you're looking
at consequences for environmental health, you're looking at consequences for the spread of
diseases, but also the aesthetic value that vultures bring both for tourism and culturally.
--Africa's vultures travel across the continent efficiently
maintaining balanced environments. Experts are concerned that what replaces
the work of vultures will be costly for ecosystems and human communities.
-- You cannot think about all these wildebeest carcasses lying all over the place, livestock...
no vultures to clear them...unimaginable.
In 2017, the Convention of the Conservation of Migratory Species developed a science-based action plan to
protect all African vultures across the continent.
-- It is very important for countries, for governments, for communities to collaborate because it's
it's a species that cuts across borders, it's a species that covers a huge range,
so we– we need to collaborate.
--The Multi-species Action Plan provides a coordinated
framework for vulture recovery. It identifies regional threats
and actions governments can take. For example, the plan presents site specific
strategies to help manage population declines from animal trade,
develop bird-friendly energy infrastructure and, eliminates the wide scale use of poison.
Healthy vulture populations and the ecosystem services they offer protect
our communities, our environment, and our future economic development on a
national and continental scale.
-- In just over 9-minutes, this group of White-backed vultures did
what they've done for millennia– they cleaned and processed a carcass from the
community... for free.
-- Shared species, shared priorities, a shared vision
for the future. The time to act is now. To find out what you can do, please
look to The Multi-species Action Plan or its summary online.