Vultures
Elephants and Vultures – It’s Complicated
Written by Robin Cook The white-backed vulture (Gyps africanus) is a critically endangered species in the Greater Kruger National Park (Greater KNP), with adults being threatened by a variety of factors such as poisonings, electrocutions, muti-trade and habitat loss. These factors place great strain on an already decreasing population. However, as white-backed vultures nest at…
Read MoreElephants and Vultures
By Michelle Henley Every year Elephants Alive monitors large trees used by raptors and vultures as nesting sites for elephant impact. We are trying to determine if elephant impact on the trees compromise the nest survival rates in any way. We started out monitoring all the nests in Klaserie Private Nature Reserve but were then…
Read MoreVulture-Tree Links
By Michelle Henley South Africa’s white-backed vultures are now Critically Endangered, and their numbers continue to plummet. The main cause of this rapid decline are indiscriminate poisonings, where the birds are drawn to poisoned baits, use of vulture body parts in traditional medicine, and deliberate targeting by poachers, as the presence of vultures can alert authorities to illegally…
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