Another Continental Vulture Crisis: Africa's Vultures Collapsing toward Extinction

Abstract

Vultures provide critical ecosystem services, yet populations of many species have collapsed worldwide. We present the first estimates of a 30-year PanAfrican vulture decline, confirming that declines have occurred on a scale broadly comparable with those seen in Asia, where the ecological, economic, and human costs are already documented. Populations of eight species we assessed had declined by an average of 62%; seven had declined at a rate of 80% or more over three generations. Of these, at least six appear to qualify for uplisting to Critically Endangered. Africa's vultures are facing a range of specific threats, the most significant of which are poisoning and trade in traditional medicines, which together accounted for 90% of reported deaths. We recommend that national governments urgently enact and enforce legislation to strictly regulate the sale and use of pesticides and poisons, to eliminate the illegal trade in vulture body parts, as food or medicine, and to minimize mortality caused by power lines and wind turbines.

Understanding, quantifying and mapping the use of poison by commercial farmers in Namibia – Implications for scavengers' conservation and ecosystem health

“…Effective conservation typically depends on the level of understanding of human behaviors that affect biodiversity (St John et al 2015). Illegal behaviors, such as illegal logging, poaching and poisoning of wildlife, are widespread globally and represent significant threats to a large share of biodiversity and ecosystems (Laurance et al 2012;Ogada et al 2016). …”

“…by placing poisoned baits) is an illegal practice in many parts of the world and affects not only the target species (Mateo-Tomas et al 2012), but also obligate scavengers, such as vultures, through secondary poisoning (Mateo-Tomas et al 2012;Ogada et al 2016). Secondary poisoning of vultures has been reported from across large regions of Africa where livestock farming coexists with predators, and is rapidly driving most vulture populations towards extinction 2016) (Ogada et al 2016). …”

“…Vultures were also found to contribute to reduced green-house-gas emissions by limiting transportation needed to transfer byproducts (Morales-Reyes et al 2015). As vulture populations are plummeting across Africa, largely due to poisoning (Ogada et al 2016), their associated services are also being lost and the consequences for ecosystems and human wellbeing could be severe . African governments have recently realized the scale and magnitude of the issue and have committed to take actions to prevent vulture poisoning with the approval of a resolution on wildlife crime and trade (Ogada et al 2016; http://web.unep.org/unea/tableresolutions-adopted-unea-2).…”

Short comunications, Notes and reports - New record of African White-backed Vulture (<i>Gyps africanus</i>) in Europe

“…species has exhibited declines across much of its range, from 50% to 90% in different regions (Nikolaus 2006, Thiollay 2006, Virani et al, 2011, Ogada et al 2015. Due to this situation, the global conservation category of this vulture has been decreased to Endangered (IUCN, 2014).…”

“…In this context, another raptor species, the North African Long-Legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus cirtensis), had a similar process in the past and has been recently recorded breeding in the Gibraltar Strait area in southern Spain (Elorriaga & Muñoz, 2010). Both Rüppell's Griffon and African White-backed Vulture populations are in strong decline across West Africa (Nikolaus, 2006;Thiollay, 2006;IUCN, 2014, Ogada et al 2015, almost certainly in areas where these populations come into contact with wintering Eurasian Griffons. However, in spite of these population declines, the number of Rüppell's Griffons seen in the Iberian Peninsula is increasing (De Juana 2006, Gutiérrez et al 2010.…”