Identifying priority locations to protect a wide-ranging endangered species

Value of combining transect counts and telemetry data to determine short‐term population trends in a globally threatened species

“…We found that poisoning in southern Tanzania is sometimes motivated by retaliatory poisoning of carnivores, sentinel poisoning related to bushmeat snaring, and trade in vulture parts. Retaliatory poisoning was detected across the PA networks in our study and primarily occurred in areas surrounding the NPs, where the presence of pastoralism and vulture foraging likely overlap (Peters et al, 2023). Challenges to the mitigation of retaliatory poisoning are the growth of pastoral populations, particularly around the northeast edge of Nyerere NP, and the nomadic nature of pastoralism in southern Tanzania (Beattie et al, 2020;Kuiper et al, 2015).…”

“…At the end of 2019, Selous GR was officially split into Selous GR (16,749 km 2 ) and Nyerere NP (30,893 km 2 ), now the biggest NP in East Africa. Based on our telemetry work, these two landscapes appear to have 2 separate vulture populations; the Eastern Arc Mountain range acts as a geographical barrier for east‐west movement (Peters et al., 2023).…”

“…Southern Tanzania is a key area for the conservation of vultures (Botha et al, 2017) because of its large protected area network and significant wildlife populations; yet vultures have received limited research attention in this region (Peters et al, 2022(Peters et al, , 2023. It is recognized as a stronghold for other wideranging large mammal species, such as elephants and antelopes (Lindsey et al, 2017), which are a significant part of vultures' diet (Houston, 1974), further supporting the potential for it to be a stronghold for these endangered species.…”

A long‐lasting, distant journey of a male griffon vulture informs on the success of differential parental investment

“…This temporary settlement in these distant areas can imply a change in foraging habits and diet (Arrondo et al, 2023), may be influencing its nutritional condition and the risk of acquiring and dispersing pathogens, and ingesting different pharmaceutical drugs derived from the consumption of stabled versus extensive livestock (Blanco et al, 2019; Pitarch et al, 2017; Plaza et al, 2020), which has important conservation implications (Cortés‐Avizanda et al, 2016). Therefore, knowledge of feeding opportunities and their associated risks in breeding and temporary distant settlement areas should be considered together to establish efficient management measures for these highly mobile species (Arrondo et al, 2023; Peters et al, 2023). Second, our observations show how the apparent neglect in the breeding behavior of a novice male griffon vulture can be compensated by its female mate, which successfully completed the breeding event.…”

“…Although the increasing use of telemetry devices is providing detailed data on vulture movements (Ac acio et al, 2023), these improvements do not yet allow the identification, from information derived from accelerometers and other sensors, of the precise breeding status of tracked individuals (Peters et al, 2023). Therefore, to obtain this information, it is necessary to locate the specific nesting site of the tagged individuals and then, through field monitoring, follow the breeding process, which may be challenging.…”