In Botswana, in an area near the border with Zimbabwe, 539 raptors died after being poisoned amid terrible suffering, and as if that were not enough, the majority of these birds belonged to species at risk of extinction. This was announced by Botswana's Department of Wildlife and National Parks, which described the horrific incident as one of the largest poisoning events in history and an unprecedented blow to already threatened vulture populations.

An unprecedented mass death

Among the dead raptors were ten Cape vultures (Gyps coprotheres), a species classified as "endangered" on the Iucn Red List, fourteen lappet-faced vultures (Torgos tracheliotus), also endangered, seventeen white-headed vultures (Trigonoceps occipitalis), classified as "critically endangered", twenty-eight hooded vultures (Necrosyrtes monachus), likewise critically endangered, two tawny eagles (Aquila rapax) and 468 African white-backed vultures (Gyps africanus), critically endangered.

Read also

• Viva gli spazzini, il 5 settembre è la Giornata mondiale degli avvoltoi
• In Botswana non è più illegale cacciare gli elefanti
• Strage di elefanti in Botswana, cosa non funziona nella lotta al bracconaggio

A conservation catastrophe

The death toll could, however, be even higher: breeding season is currently under way, meaning that the chicks or eggs of the poisoned animals are also condemned to death. Vultures are also poorly fertile and reach sexual maturity late, which makes the situation all the more grave. "We cannot comprehend the true magnitude of losing almost 600 vultures in one week," commented Kerri Wolter, CEO and founder of conservation NGO VulPro.

How the raptors died

According to statements by Botswanan authorities, the raptors died after eating three poisoned carcasses of poached elephants. This would therefore constitute a deliberate massacre: vultures, with their distinctive circling behaviour, quickly signal the presence of injured or dead animals, alerting rangers and thereby making poachers easy to locate. For this reason, poachers routinely poison carcasses deliberately, in order to physically eliminate the problem.

Read also

• Massacro di elefanti in Botswana, trovati i corpi di 87 pachidermi
• In Mozambico sempre più elefanti nascono senza zanne

The long shadow of poaching

This tragic incident highlights the wide-ranging ecological consequences of the illegal ivory trade, which therefore threatens not "only" the survival of elephants. In Botswana — a country that is home to roughly one third of the total African elephant (Loxodonta africana) population and long considered a safe haven for the animals — poaching appears to be on the rise. Between 2017 and 2018, according to a recent study, more than 385 elephants were killed — fewer than in other African countries, but an alarming increase for Botswana. This rise is said to be a consequence of the ill-judged measure adopted by Botswana last May, when President Mokgweetsi Masisi decided to revoke the ban introduced in 2014 by his predecessor, which prohibited the killing of elephants outside designated reserves.

The importance of vultures

Vultures have always attracted little affection from the general public, whether on account of their diet of carcasses or their ungainly appearance — itself a consequence of what they eat. Yet these animals play an indispensable ecological role: they are nature's scavengers and reduce the likelihood of certain infectious diseases spreading. Their disappearance can therefore have serious public health impacts. In India, for example, where vultures have all but vanished, populations of rats and stray dogs have grown enormously, raising fears of severe epidemics. Sadly, the majority of vulture species are endangered and risk disappearing under pressure from numerous threats; the leading cause of mortality is poisoning, followed by collisions with power lines.