Photo by Andre Botha / Conservation Letters
The fight to stay alive on a day-to-day basis is challenging by itself, but for these vultures the battle not to be come extinct is very real as well. The photo above, by Andre Botha, shows Lappet-faced, White-backed and Cape Vultures in an uproar over a carcass at Sable Dam, in Kruger National Park, South Africa. The three species are declining at a rate of 80 to 92% over three generations (approximately 45 to 55 years) a study suggests. A international team of researchers, including leading scientists from Scotland's University of St. Andrews, The Hawk Conservancy Trust in Hampshire, England, and the University of York in North Yorkshire, claim African vultures are likely to qualify as "critically endangered" under the IUCN's (International Union for Conservation of Nature) global threat criteria.
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BtheB
1 comment:
The odd thing is how our own local vultures have increased so much in recent years. US Black vultures being seen in SW Ontario - global warming perhaps, and the native Turkey vulture becoming a common sight in our summers - said to be due to improved soaring conditions created by an increase in road surfacing causing more widespread rising thermals to soar on, and more cars equalling more road kill to eat.
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