CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) \u2014 Vultures have an image problem. Seen as ugly and associated with death, they are among the least loved animals in the world. But conservationists in Africa are trying to change that.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve launched an effort to save endangered vultures<\/a> by trying to put a dollar figure on their incredible value.<\/p>\n A recent report by the BirdLife International conservation organization estimated that vultures are worth $1.8 billion a year to certain ecosystems in southern Africa, which might surprise anyone not familiar with the clean-up, pest control and anti-poaching work performed by one of the most efficient scavengers on the planet.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are not up there on the pretty scale. And they are not popular. But we know they are very useful,\u201d said Fadzai Matsvimbo, an extinction prevention coordinator at BirdLife International.<\/p>\n The report comes at an important time for Africa\u2019s vultures; six of the 11 species found on the continent are listed as endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which says vultures are highly threatened in many parts of the world<\/a>. In Africa, some species have declined by nearly 90%, Matsvimbo said.<\/p>\n Conservationists hope the report will make authorities and the public more aware of the positive impact<\/a> of vultures.<\/p>\n It focused on research in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe and shows how a wake of vultures \u2014 the term for a group of feeding vultures \u2014 can strip a decomposing carcass in hours, cleaning up ecosystems, reducing the chance of disease spreading and the presence of pests like rats and feral dogs, which has great benefits to communities.<\/p>\n Vultures also have extremely strong stomach acid, don\u2019t get food poisoning and are able to consume and neutralize anthrax, botulism and other bacteria and toxins in carcasses that would kill other animals, removing deadly threats from the environment. Just this week, more than 50 hippos died from suspected anthrax poisoning in a reserve in Congo.<\/p>\n Vultures are nature\u2019s \u201cbest sanitation services,\u201d said Matsvimbo. Conservationists have raised the case of the drastic loss of vultures in India over the last 30 years and how that led to a health crisis. A study published last year said half a million people died in India because of the spread of bacteria and infections in the absence of vultures.<\/p>\n Matsvimbo said vultures in Africa are also used as \u201csentinels\u201d by game rangers because they are often the first to spot a dead animal and can lead rangers to where poachers might be active. They have even proven useful in helping farmers locate dead or injured livestock.<\/p>\n