04 Dec 2013

The number of  bird species listed as critically endangered has reached an all-time high with the release of this year’s Red List for birds by BirdLife International and its national partners, including BirdLife Botswana.

“Globally, almost 200 species of bird are now in real danger of being lost forever”, a press release from Birdlife Botswana quotes the chairman of the organisation Mr Harold Hester. 

“They are being hit on multiple fronts. Habitat loss, agricultural changes, invasive species, climate change and closer to home poisoning, are the principle threats. Without these problems being addressed the list will continue to grow.”

The press release says the total number of species recognised by BirdLife in the 2013 Red List update is 10 065.

The number of species by category is as follows: Extinct 130; Extinct in the Wild 4; Critically Endangered 198; Endangered 397; Vulnerable 713; Near Threatened 888; Least Concern 7 675; Data Deficient 60. Importantly, for Botswana, we have three species as Endangered (Grey Crowned-crane, White-backed Vulture and Hooded Vulture), and nine as Vulnerable, says the release.

It says of note is that all of Botswana’s vultures are now listed as either Endangered or Vulnerable because their populations have declined catastrophically over recent years largely due to poisoning by some farmers and wildlife poachers in Botswana and neighbouring countries. “The farmers would typically lace livestock carcasses with poison targeting mammalian carnivores that are thought to pose a threat to livestock, but often, it is the non-targeted vultures that find the poisoned carcasses and then [get] mistakenly killed”, Dr Kabelo Senyatso, BirdLife Botswana’s Director, is quoted by the release.

He further says, “As for wildlife poachers, we have discovered disturbing trends where these poachers deliberately poison elephant carcasses because otherwise if vultures circled over these carcasses, they would alert security personnel to the poaching incidents”. At least more than 1 000 “Botswana vultures” have been poisoned during the last six months, and BirdLife Botswana urges government, the private sector, the media, civil society, farmers associations, and importantly political leaders and the general public, to partner with the organisation to help reverse this trend.

“Should Botswana’s vultures go extinct, there will be a higher [risk for]spread of diseases from carcasses left to rot, our ecosystems will fall out of balance, and Botswana will experience a loss of income from bird tourism”, it further quotes Dr Senyatso.

Through the release Birdlife Botswana urges all stakeholders to lend a hand to the “I want Botswana’s vultures ALIVE, not dead” campaign, meant to profile the decline of vultures, and also share with affected parties some of the possible remedial solutions, such as safer protection of livestock from mammalian carnivores such as lions, hyenas and jackals, through actions that do not endanger vultures.

These materials and advice to farmers are freely available from the BirdLife Botswana office, or online through www.birdlifebotswana.org.bw.  ENDS