Endangered vulture carcass found in Zululand, poisoning suspected

A critically endangered African white-backed vulture was found poisoned over the festive season, with the possibility of more vulture carcasses being removed from the site in the Zululand district, KwaZulu-Natal.

This came exactly one year after an incident in the same area, which later resulted in the rescue and rehabilitation of four African white-backed vultures and one lappet-faced vulture.

According to animal non-governmental organisations (NGO), Wildlife ACT, poisoning is the primary threat facing these birds in KwaZulu-Natal and, without swift response, a single poisoning incident could affect an entire breeding cluster.

Vultures are poisoned and then sold in traditional markets where their parts are highly sought after.

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“Once we picked up that there was a poisoning incident, we quickly deployed a helicopter to search for any additional birds which may have been affected, thus minimising the impact of the poisoning,” said PJ Roberts, emergency response manager for Wildlife ACT.

He further highlighted that “it is crucial that the poison is neutralised and the area swept to avoid any long-term impact – to both vultures and other species in the environment”.

Through this ground effort, additional clumps of feathers were noted around the area where the carcass was found, indicating that other vultures could have been harvested and removed from the site prior to the emergency response team’s arrival.

Police were contacted and a case has been opened at the Mkuze police station.

Vulture numbers across the continent are in a steep decline, affected by numerous anthropogenic threats.

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