Conservation body, The Wildlife Act, says latest data shows a decline in the breeding population of the endangered White-back vulture in KwaZulu-Natal.
Last week, at least 47 critically endangered White-backed vultures and five Tawney eagles were poisoned at a community reserve in the Magudu area near Mkhuze in the north of the province.
More than 50 white-backed vultures have been poisoned in KwaZulu-Natal. The latest mass killing brings this critically endangered species closer to extinction in the northern Zululand region.
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— WildlifeACT (@wildlifeact) December 23, 2022
Five surviving vultures have been taken to a rehabilitation centre.
Anele Olivier of The Wildlife Act adds, “They are exposed to a wide variety of threats of which intentional poisoning is the biggest threat. From our annual surveys with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, we have recorded a crash in the local breeding population over the last few years. Mass killings such as this one just cannot continue if we want to ensure the survival of these important species.”
Olivier describes what the team found at the scene of the crime.
“We responded quickly and discovered to a heart breaking scene of numerous dead African White-back vultures lying around a Wildebeest carcass that was laced with poison. There were also some live birds in the area that were clearly struggling from the impacts of the poison they’d ingested. The majority of the vulture carcasses that we recovered had their heads removed presumably to be sold illegally at the traditional markets.”
“Vultures are a vital component of our ecosystem’s functionality, yet we have seen a drastic decline of the local breeding population over the past few years due to poisoning.” – Anel Olivier, WACT’s Vulture Conservation Programme Manager.https://t.co/zv2AVH2bzd pic.twitter.com/cykFrJtd2c
— WildlifeACT (@wildlifeact) December 22, 2022
