Celebrate the Ugly — Vultures may not be pretty, but their services are beautiful.
We not only observe, but we make changes happen. Our participation (or apathy) leads to a different future. The ocean is made of drops. And the drops are up to us. Who else is going to care enough to make an impact?
–Seth Godin
The excitement of seeing large game on safari is hard to describe. Elephants are irresistible and giraffes are so beautiful you can’t help but swoon when they show up. Zebras never lose their appeal and lions – well lions are 100% attention grabbers with their loving behaviour amongst each other and deadly fierceness on the hunt, all rolled into one package.
Most visitors to Africa have big game on their bucket list. Hyenas and vultures – the ugly looking clean-up crew are often reviled. It’s important to know, however, that the health of the ecosystem is completely reliant on these scavengers. They are like the immune system of the savannah. They eat carrion and prevent the spread of disease.
Did you know the first Saturday in September is International Vulture Awareness Day? Nature’s garbage collectors, vultures are found in many countries. They are the most threatened group of raptors in the world. All African vultures are under pressure, several are facing extinction. Some populations have fallen as much as 97% in the last few years.
One morning after an early game drive on the Maasai Mara, a group of us were enjoying a bush breakfast when I spotted an animal form lying still in the distance. When I looked through my telephoto lens, I could see that it was the lifeless body of a zebra foal. There were no zebras in sight. Within minutes we heard the excited whoops of hyenas as they raced towards the body and vultures circled in the sky.
With extraordinary speed the hyenas tore apart the carcass and headed home with body parts. It was like the Kenyan alternative to the Zamboni cleaning the ice at half time in a hockey game with a lot more blood and grisly action. The vultures waited their turn politely and finished up any scraps left behind. When we headed back to camp there was no evidence of the drama or the zebra.
Vultures are often feared with superstitious dread by local people due to their relationship with death. In a few African countries there is a burgeoning trade in their body parts. Some traditional cultures believe the use of vulture parts contribute to a person’s clairvoyance or will bring them luck. This is not a lucky practice for the vultures. Poisoning is another cause of declining raptor populations. Farmers poison predators to protect livestock. The poisoned carcasses of lions and hyenas in turn poison vultures who come to scavenge the dead animal.
A key conservation solution is education and habitat protection. When people understand that vultures are an essential link in preventing disease and protecting the ecosystem, they realize these birds are helpers and deserve protection as much as any other wildlife.
Nature is an endless circle of connection. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. All aspects of the natural world contribute to a healthy balance in the environment and must be protected if we are going to save our planet. Education and conservation go hand in hand.