Zimbabwe’s vulture population is under growing threat from poisoning, habitat loss and illegal killing linked to traditional beliefs, conservationists have warned.
The warning comes as eight critically endangered white-backed vultures were fitted with solar-powered satellite transmitters in Zambia’s Luambe National Park to track their movements for the next three to five years.
The project, run by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, The Peregrine Fund, North Carolina Zoo and Nsanga Conservation, will monitor where the birds feed, nest and travel between Luambe, Lukusuzi and the wider Luangwa Valley.
IFAW Zambia director Moses Nyirenda said vultures are indicators of ecosystem health and help assess wildlife connectivity.
“Vultures are highly endangered and threatened, but at the same time vultures indicate the health of the ecosystem,” he said.
“By studying vultures, we will be able to monitor how wildlife species are able to move across the landscapes and therefore look at ecosystem connectivity.”
The white-backed vulture is classified as critically endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
Peregrine Fund southern Africa programme director Corinne Kendall said poisoning is a major threat and tracking will help pinpoint mortality hotspots.
In Zimbabwe, vultures are vulnerable to poisoning from contaminated carcasses and are also killed for their body parts for use in rituals linked to beliefs that they can foresee opportunities and bring luck — beliefs conservationists say have no scientific basis.
The birds play a critical role in disposing of carcasses and limiting disease spread.
During tagging, researchers assessed the birds’ age and condition and collected blood samples to determine sex and test for lead.
The initiative falls under IFAW’s Room to Roam programme and is expected to guide the protection of critical habitats in the Luangwa Valley and contribute to regional conservation across southern Africa.
More: The Herald
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