By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The VulPro conservationist group in South Africa on Friday reported the deaths of more than 150 critically endangered vultures in two separate incidents in South Africa and Botswana.
VulPro’s founder Kerri Wolter told DW that around 100 dead birds were found in the Kruger National Park in South Africa and around 50 in Botswana’s northern Chobe district.
“And the concerning thing with both these incidents is it looks like the intended victims were the vultures — they were the targeted species,” Wolter said. “Normally they are not the targeted species but here they appear to be.”
Vulture poisoning is not uncommon in southern Africa because wildlife poachers sometimes poison vultures because their presence in the skies near animal corpses can alert rangers to their illegal activities.
The Kruger National Park said it was investigating the South African incident.
Several species of Africa’s vultures are classified as endangered. And unlike with many other endangered species, population sizes are still declining, not recovering. Wolter said that overall populations had declined by around 90% in the previous 30 years or so.
“I think why people don’t recognize them as endangered is when you see a vulture, you don’t ever see just one,” Wolter said. “With vultures, they’re colonial species, so you’re going to see them in large numbers. And when you see a large number, you might think ‘oh, they’re absolutely fine.’’
Several species of Africa’s vultures are classified as endangered. And unlike with many other endangered species, population sizes are still declining, not recovering. Wolter said that overall populations had declined by around 90% in the previous 30 years or so.
“I think why people don’t recognize them as endangered is when you see a vulture, you don’t ever see just one,” Wolter said. “With vultures, they’re colonial species, so you’re going to see them in large numbers. And when you see a large number, you might think ‘oh, they’re absolutely fine.”