by Cape Town, South Africa (AP) – Vulture has a picture problem. As ugly and associated with death, they are among the least beloved animals in the world. But conservationists in Africa try to change that.
They tried to save endangered vultures by trying to set a dollar value on their incredible value.
In a report recently reported by the BirdLife International Conservation Organization, it was estimated that the vultures on certain ecosystems in southern Africa are worth $ 1.8 billion a year, which could possibly surprise anyone who is not familiar with the cleaning up, pest control and the anti-poaching plant of one of the most efficient SCAVENGER on the planet.
“You are not on the top. And you are not popular. But we know that you are very useful,” said Fadzai Matsvimbo, coordinator for extinction of prevention at BirdLife International.
The report comes at an important time for Africa’s Geier. Six of the eleven species found on the continent are endangered by the International Union for nature conservation as endangered or critically at risk, which says that cultures in many parts of the world are very threatened. In Africa, some species have decreased by almost 90%, said Matsvimbo.
Conservationists hope that the report will draw the authorities and the public aware of the positive effects of vultures.
It focused on research in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe and shows how an assigned von Geier – the term for a group of feeding vulture – can remove a decomposing carcass in hours, grab the ecosystems, which reduce the likelihood of disease distribution and the presence of disorders such as rats and violent dogs that have great advantages to the communities.
Vultures also have extremely strong stomach acid, do not receive food poisoning and can consuming anthrax, botulism and other bacteria and toxins in slaughterhouse and neutralizing that kill other animals and removes fatal threats from the environment. It was only this week that more than 50 hippos died of alleged anthrax poisoning in a reserve in the Congo.
Vultures are the “best sanitary services in nature,” said Matsvimbo. Conservationists have the case of the drastic loss of vultures in India in the past 30 years and how this has led to a health crisis. In a study published last year, it is said that half a million people in India died in the absence of vultures due to the spread of bacteria and infections.
Matsvimbo said that Vultures in Africa are also used by Game Rangers as “Sentinels” because they are often the first to recognize a dead animal and lead rangers to the place where poachers are active. They even proved to be useful to help farmers find dead or injured cattle.
Vultures are unique under land, because they only feed on AAS – dead animals. This makes them particularly susceptible to poisoning by humans, either deliberately from poachers and others who want to get rid of, or accidentally when pests are the goal. Hundreds of vultures can die on a single poisoned carcass.
Vultures are also regularly killed or mutilated in collisions with Powerlines in Africa. And they are increasingly killed for reasons of belief, said Kerri Wolter, CEO of the Vulpro-Vulture rehabilitation center in South Africa, treated the sick and injured vultures in order to be released into the wilderness.
She said because Geier have such an outstanding eyesight and instincts when it comes to finding a dead animal that is considered light -hearted by some and is able to predict death. Your parts of the body and especially your head are used in soaks or as a stimulus to predict the future.
“Our work is to change people’s ways of thinking,” said Wolter. “So that you see vultures and think, wow that is amazing.”
Matsvimbo and Wolter both said that vultures from Moviemakers in Hollywood received a raw deal, where they are almost always shown as evil and scary. Films have done for Vultures what “Jaws” did for Sharks, said Wolter.
“I love to watch” The Lion King “, but every time they take part, my heart breaks,” said Matsvimbo. “Vulture is never shown positively. I have a bone that I can chew with these Moviemakers. Or should the bone be to choose?”
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AP Africa News: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
