Critically Endangered Vultures
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 11:38 am
Critically Endangered Vultures
Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus)
This species is classified as Critically Endangered as there is evidence that it is probably experiencing a very rapid decline owing to hunting, persecution and indiscriminate poisoning, as well as habitat loss and degradation. The species is often associated with human settlements, but is also found in open grassland, forest edge, wooded savanna, desert and along coasts.
Rüppell's Vulture Gyps rueppelli
Gyps rueppelli occurs throughout the Sahel region of Africa from Senegal, Gambia and Mali in the west to Sudan, South Sudan and Ethiopia in the east. Also south through the savanna regions of East Africa in Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. This species has declined severely in parts of its range and overall it is suspected to have undergone a very rapid decline owing to habitat loss and conversion to agro-pastoral systems, declines in wild ungulate populations, hunting for trade, persecution, collision and poisoning.
White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus)
This species has declined severely in parts of its range and overall it is suspected to have undergone a very rapid decline owing to habitat loss and conversion to agro-pastoral systems, declines in wild ungulate populations, hunting for trade, persecution, collisions and poisoning. These declines are likely to continue into the future. For this reason it has been uplisted to Critically Endangered. Primarily a lowland species of open wooded savanna, particularly areas of Acacia. It requires tall trees for nesting. A gregarious species congregating at carcasses, in thermals and at roost sites. It nests in loose colonies.
White-headed Vulture Trigonoceps occipitalis
Trigonoceps occipitalis has an extremely large range in sub-Saharan Africa (from Senegal, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau disjunctly east to Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, and south to easternmost South Africa and Swaziland), where it is uncommon to locally common, but generally widespread outside forested regions (Harrison et al. 1997). It has declined rapidly in parts of West Africa since the early 1940s (P. Hall in litt. 1999, J. M. Thiollay in litt. 2006, 2012), is declining in East Africa (Virani et al. 2011) and in southern Africa is now largely confined to protected areas.
Indian Vulture Gyps indicus (CR)
This species is classified as Critically Endangered because it has suffered an extremely rapid population decline as a result of mortality from feeding on carcasses of animals treated with the veterinary drug diclofenac. Survey results indicate that declines throughout the Indian Subcontinent probably began in the 1990s and were extremely rapid, resulting in an overall population decline of greater than 97% over a 10-15 year period.
Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus)
This species is classified as Critically Endangered as there is evidence that it is probably experiencing a very rapid decline owing to hunting, persecution and indiscriminate poisoning, as well as habitat loss and degradation. The species is often associated with human settlements, but is also found in open grassland, forest edge, wooded savanna, desert and along coasts.
Rüppell's Vulture Gyps rueppelli
Gyps rueppelli occurs throughout the Sahel region of Africa from Senegal, Gambia and Mali in the west to Sudan, South Sudan and Ethiopia in the east. Also south through the savanna regions of East Africa in Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. This species has declined severely in parts of its range and overall it is suspected to have undergone a very rapid decline owing to habitat loss and conversion to agro-pastoral systems, declines in wild ungulate populations, hunting for trade, persecution, collision and poisoning.
White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus)
This species has declined severely in parts of its range and overall it is suspected to have undergone a very rapid decline owing to habitat loss and conversion to agro-pastoral systems, declines in wild ungulate populations, hunting for trade, persecution, collisions and poisoning. These declines are likely to continue into the future. For this reason it has been uplisted to Critically Endangered. Primarily a lowland species of open wooded savanna, particularly areas of Acacia. It requires tall trees for nesting. A gregarious species congregating at carcasses, in thermals and at roost sites. It nests in loose colonies.
White-headed Vulture Trigonoceps occipitalis
Trigonoceps occipitalis has an extremely large range in sub-Saharan Africa (from Senegal, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau disjunctly east to Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, and south to easternmost South Africa and Swaziland), where it is uncommon to locally common, but generally widespread outside forested regions (Harrison et al. 1997). It has declined rapidly in parts of West Africa since the early 1940s (P. Hall in litt. 1999, J. M. Thiollay in litt. 2006, 2012), is declining in East Africa (Virani et al. 2011) and in southern Africa is now largely confined to protected areas.
Indian Vulture Gyps indicus (CR)
This species is classified as Critically Endangered because it has suffered an extremely rapid population decline as a result of mortality from feeding on carcasses of animals treated with the veterinary drug diclofenac. Survey results indicate that declines throughout the Indian Subcontinent probably began in the 1990s and were extremely rapid, resulting in an overall population decline of greater than 97% over a 10-15 year period.
