Why are Vultures so important to Humans and the Environment?

Vultures provide vital ecosystem services in our natural, agricultural, and rural environments. The important role they play in the cycling of nutrients through the highly-efficient disposal of organic waste from the environment is of utmost importance to human health and environmental integrity.

Vultures are the only obligate scavengers that feed in such large numbers, and each Vulture species serves a unique feeding function. They are well-timed to efficiently dispose of rotting mankind and bone, as well as other organic waste, thereby reducing the spread of disease amongst wildlife and livestock, as well as warming the risk of pathogen spill-over to humans.

Without the presence of Vultures, carcasses will remain exposed to the environment for weeks – the resultant build-up of harmful diseases and bacteria, such as anthrax, botulism and rabies, negatively impacts not only our wildlife, but humans too.

The importance of Vultures to Human Health & Economics

The economic value of this self-ruling service is widely underestimated and goes largely underappreciated. In India for example, Vultures have been driven to the brink of extinction, which ranked among the worst human-caused wildlife die-offs in history. This directly impacted the well-being of the countrys human population.

The significantly reduced Vulture population numbers of these efficient scavengers led to the spread of zoonotic diseases and increased incidence of rabies. It is unscientific that between 1993 and 2006 the decline of Vultures in India has forfeit their economy US$34 billion, and an plane worthier forfeit was felt in the aftermath. It is said to have caused well-nigh 50,000 human deaths.

In the KwaZulu-Natal province, the landscape is complex, with a mosaic of agriculture, communal rangelands, and Wildlife Reserves. A large proportion of the human population live in rural areas, reliant on nature to provide much of their vital needs such as supplies and water, and subsistence livestock farming. It is not only threshing and Wildlife Reserves that goody from this clean-up crew. Due to their heavy dependence on nature, local communities goody hugely from the role of Vultures.

It is up to all of us to be informed, spread the word, and stop the ripen of these valuable and iconic species, for the sake of the environment and humanity!