![]() ![]() In an older post, we talked about how vital birds are to the world’s ecosystems and how the removal of just one species could spell an irreversible catastrophe elsewhere, be it commodities, medicines, or our own mental health.Ī group of species mentioned in that post also suffers from the purely-by-chance misfortune of being one of the world’s most unattractive birds who takes part in one of the world’s most unattractive processes. The word vulture also means a person who will rapidly descend hungrily on a situation, usually from the point of view of benefiting from another’s misfortune. The death knell to many a chap-clad chap, the image of the circling vulture coming to feast on a still-breathing but defenceless victim has been embedded in much of the cinema-going world’s psyche since the late 1930s when John Ford’s Stagecoach hit the silver screen, propelling Marion Morrison into the celebrity stratosphere as the more “manly” sounding John Wayne. The shadow of a large bird passes over his sunburnt face. Then – khrraaeee! Khraaeee! Turning his squinting eyes to the blinding rays above, he sees slowly wheeling silhouettes follow the blood-curdling cries on their downward spiral through the air. The camera pans out and we see he is all alone, for miles. One of the world’s most unattractive birds who takes part in one of the world’s most unattractive processes. Our hero is slumped in the sand cradling his bloodied leg, his voice almost gone and lips cracking, a dusty and empty water canteen hanging limply from his hand. We recommend that improving fencing around abattoir facilities could help restrict access by feral dogs, increase foraging by vultures, and, therefore, increase overall carrion removal rates.Grainy western movies full of big skies and vast desert landscapes always, and I mean always had one consistent character. Our results indicate that ongoing vulture declines across Africa could significantly reduce carrion removal. Using estimates of species-specific carrion consumption rates from the literature, coupled with changes in scavenger detections in our study, we estimated a 12% (54 kg/day) reduction in carrion consumption, or nearly 20,000 kg carrion less consumed per year by the end of the study at these 6 abattoirs. Simultaneously, the detections of dogs more than doubled. africanus) vultures declined by 73% and critically endangered hooded vultures ( Necrosyrtes monachus) declined by 15% over the study period. Detections of critically endangered Rüppell's ( Gyps rueppelli) and white-backed ( G. At the start of the study, vultures contributed 57% of carrion removal provided by vertebrate scavengers. We demonstrated the importance of abattoirs for supporting a large number and diversity of scavenger species, including 3 critically endangered, 2 endangered, 1 vulnerable, and 2 regionally endemic bird species. Specifically, we investigated daily, seasonal, and inter-annual patterns in use of abattoirs by vertebrate scavengers and estimated carrion consumption rates. We studied vertebrate scavenger ecology at 6 abattoirs in Ethiopia with time-lapse photography and in-person surveys from 2014–2019. ![]() Little information exists on the scavenger community composition and dynamics at abattoirs, and, to our knowledge, the carrion removal that scavengers provide at these sites has never been quantified. ![]() slaughterhouses), thereby aiding in waste removal. Across Africa, many scavengers feed at abattoirs (i.e. By quickly locating and consuming carrion, vertebrate scavengers cycle nutrients, stabilize food webs, and may help mitigate disease transmission to humans. Scavenging is an important ecological process. ![]()
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