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At least 123 vultures died in South Africa’s flagship national park after eating the carcass of a poisoned elephant, park authorities and an animal conservation group said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The elephant was reportedly laced with agricultural pesticides by poachers.<\/p>\n
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Another 83 vultures that were rescued from the site and transported for treatment by helicopter or a special vulture ambulance are still recovering.<\/p>\n
The mass poisoning was one of the worst seen in the famous Kruger National Park in northern South Africa, said SANParks, the national parks agency.<\/p>\n
Vultures are especially vulnerable to poisoning<\/p>\n
Vultures are key to wildlife ecosystems because of the clean-up work they do, feeding on the carcasses of dead animals. <\/p>\n
But that also makes them especially vulnerable to poisoning by poachers<\/strong><\/a>, either intentionally or as a result of the killing of other animals. <\/p>\n Hundreds of vultures typically feed on a single carcass.<\/p>\n The elephant had been poisoned by poachers<\/strong><\/a> in a remote part of the huge park to harvest its body parts for the illegal wildlife trade, SANParks and the Endangered Wildlife Trust said.<\/p>\n Many vulture species are endangered in Africa because of poisoning and other threats. The affected birds in Kruger included Cape vultures, endangered lappet-faced vultures and critically-endangered white-backed and hooded vultures.<\/p>\n Rangers face a daily battle against poachers<\/p>\n “This horrific incident is part of a broader crisis unfolding across southern Africa: the escalating use of poisons in wildlife poaching,” SANParks and the Endangered Wildlife Trust said in their joint statement. <\/p>\n