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https://apnews.com/article/vulture-conservation-environment-wildlife-africa-d4d01206834873a198c6883bc92936f4>
"CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Vultures have an image problem. Seen as ugly
and associated with death, they are among the least loved animals in the world.
But conservationists in Africa are trying to change that.
They’ve launched an effort to save endangered vultures by trying to put a
dollar figure on their incredible value.
A recent report by the BirdLife International conservation organization
estimated that vultures are worth $1.8 billion a year to certain ecosystems in
southern Africa, which might surprise anyone not familiar with the clean-up,
pest control and anti-poaching work performed by one of the most efficient
scavengers on the planet.
“They are not up there on the pretty scale. And they are not popular. But we
know they are very useful,” said Fadzai Matsvimbo, an extinction prevention
coordinator at BirdLife International.
The report comes at an important time for Africa’s vultures; six of the 11
species found on the continent are listed as endangered or critically
endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which says
vultures are highly threatened in many parts of the world. In Africa, some
species have declined by nearly 90%, Matsvimbo said.
Conservationists hope the report will make authorities and the public more
aware of the positive impact of vultures.
It focused on research in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe and shows how a wake of
vultures — the term for a group of feeding vultures — can strip a decomposing
carcass in hours, cleaning up ecosystems, reducing the chance of disease
spreading and the presence of pests like rats and feral dogs, which has great
benefits to communities.
Vultures also have extremely strong stomach acid, don’t get food poisoning and
are able to consume and neutralize anthrax, botulism and other bacteria and
toxins in carcasses that would kill other animals, removing deadly threats from
the environment. Just this week, more than 50 hippos died from suspected
anthrax poisoning in a reserve in Congo.
Vultures are nature’s “best sanitation services,” said Matsvimbo.
Conservationists have raised the case of the drastic loss of vultures in India
over the last 30 years and how that led to a health crisis. A study published
last year said half a million people died in India because of the spread of
bacteria and infections in the absence of vultures."
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/what-were-reading-toronto-suburb-mass-transit/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
