Conservation and Wildlife
Vultures’ extinction could endanger farms, livestock, man-Study

While poachers have found a new tactic of escaping with their crimes in the wild by getting rid of ‘alarmists’ vultures, the scavengers known for their roles of cleaning the environment may be on their way out of the ecosystem.
Reports reveal that poachers often poison remains of large animals after extorting whatever parts needed in their unscrupulous business, leaving scavengers to die en-mass.
Scavengers like vulture gliding in great numbers hovering round a particular spot often suggest death of a big game which are most likely the work of poachers.
However, poachers’ activities in poisoning scavengers who also sometimes collide with wind turbines are already endangered.
These big scavengers are among the most important links in the food chain. Now, thanks to indiscriminate poisoning, collisions with wind turbines and power lines, and superstitious beliefs, most of Africa’s vultures could go extinct within the 50 to 100 years, according to a new report from BirdLife International.
Though they aren’t the cuddliest of birds, vultures play a crucial role in the ecosystem by eating carcasses that would otherwise be left to rot and spread disease. Yet, vulture populations have dropped sharply across the entire African continent, according to a recent study published in the journal Conservation Letters.
Many of the African species are already extinct or have severely declined in several countries.
Meanwhile, vultures are so important in the ecosystem since they help to control diseases and pests. It is surprising but these cleaners only come in, eat up carcases and leave without causing further damages.
However, if these cleaners are left to extinct, other scavengers may take advantage and multiply. The outcome of this may not be healthy. This is because scavengers like wild dogs, rats would multiply and become dangers to livestock and even cultivated plants. They may also become pests to humans.
Since 2012, scientists led by Darcy Ogada of the Idaho-based Peregrine Fund have combed through vulture population studies and surveys dating back to the 1960s. Ogada’s team found that since the 1970s, as many as 60 percent of all vulture deaths in Africa can be linked to poisoning from eating animal carcasses laced with pesticides intended to kill large predators like lions.
Sometimes when a lion goes after a farmer’s livestock, they will seed the dead animal with pesticides to poison the big cat in revenge. While the practice is illegal, it is rarely prosecuted and often kills local vultures long before the intended target according to research.
Poachers will also poison carcasses to target vulture specifically, as conservationists often track illegal hunts by following vulture flocks. The birds’ body parts are also occasionally used by local witch doctors to practice magic rituals.
“Their decline can have serious knock-on effects on other species and the many benefits provided by nature,” Simon Stuart, Chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission said in a statement.
To see what could happen if Africa’s vultures go extinct, just look towards India. During the 1990s, India’s vulture populations were obliterated due to liver failure caused by a popular drug used to treat sick livestock.
Without the aerial cleanup crew, feral dogs took up the role as scavengers. As the dog population exploded, so did diseases such as rabies—of the 55,000 annual rabies deaths worldwide, 20,000 occur in India.
The cost to public health was enormous: Healthcare costs climbed by an estimated $34 billion in India between 1993 and 2006, according to [David Allen, the Durban Natural Science Museum’s bird curator].
With few vultures to compete with, scavengers like rats, hyenas and jackals could skyrocket and spread disease in many of Africa’s rapidly growing cities. For now, Ogada says the best hope for vulture survival is for governments to start cracking down on illegal pesticide use and educate locals on their dangers, reports McCall.
“While it is encouraging to see some positive outcomes of conservation action, this update is an important wake-up call, showing that urgent efforts need to be taken to protect these species,” Stuart said in a statement.
Additional Source: www.smithsonianmag.com