In Nigeria and across Africa, vultures are being killed so that their body parts can be used for various belief-based practices, including traditional medicine. This is a severe threat for a group of birds already beleaguered by poisoning and habitat loss. But on the 8th of May, scientists, officials and community members gathered at Lekki […]
Tag: vulture
POLL: Should there be a federal ban on the use of lead ammunition?
Lead has been public enemy number one for decades due to its negative health effects. Legislators have enacted laws to protect citizens, but they’ve neglected our nation’s emblem: the bald eagle. Recent cases of bald eagle poisonings highlight the need for a national ban on lead ammunition and fishing tackle. In early February, a bald […]
How Did a Dead Humpback Whale End Up in the Amazon Rainforest?
When they followed vultures into the rainforest on Marajó Island in Brazil, near the mouth of the Amazon River officials with the state health, sanitation and environment department made a surprising discovery. The birds were feeding on the carcass of a 10-ton, 26-foot-long humpback whale calf. The calf, about a year old, was in an […]
Up to 100 vulture deaths prevented by rapid response to poisoning
On the morning of the 27th of January, Eric Ole Reson was on his routine patrol on the Northern border of the Masai Mara when he spotted a group of vultures struggling to fly. Concerned, he hurried towards them, and stumbled across a tragic scene: 20 vultures lay dead around a hyena carcass, all of […]
23 Condors Killed by Poison in Argentina
23 Andean Condors have been killed in Patagonia, Argentina, by a strong pesticide whose sale is prohibited in the country. These attacks follow ones in Jujuy and Mendoza provinces, and have conservation organizations extremely worried, as they represent a severe threat to the species. At least 23 Andean Condors (Vulture gryphus) have been poisoned in […]
Brazil Pantanal Day #3 – Fish Fest
Another great day in the Pantanal, despite the increasing mosquito load. The morning boat trip with Pantanal Nature produced another Jaguar encounter, our fifth in total. We intercepted a huge male swimming across the river, just too late before it reached the shore and disappeared promptly into the forest: Again we had breathtaking experiences with […]
New report: South Africa’s seabirds, raptors in serious decline
For bird lovers, South Africa has always been a great place to be. From the world’s largest bird, Common Ostrich Struthio camelus to the tiny Cape Penduline-Tit Anthoscopus minutus the country boasts an impressive amount of avian biodiversity. A new study from BirdLife South Africa, however, shows that the past few years have not been […]
New study: India may have even fewer vultures than we thought
Talk about no good deed going unpunished. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, South Asia’s vulture populations underwent catastrophic declines, the vultures dying while performing their most essential and valued ecosystem service to humans: disposing of cattle carcasses. These remains would otherwise be left to feed and boost the populations of problem scavengers like feral dogs, […]
