500 Vultures Killed In Botswana

Ivory poachers have two sets of victims - the elephants they kill so that they can ripe their tusks from their bodies and, frequently they poison the dead bodies of the killed elephants in order to kill the animals that scavenge the carcasses.  The reason for this is to cover their track as a large gathering of vultures around the carcasses would attract rangers and other anti-poaching forces.  In Botswana over 500 birds were poisoned as they fed on the carcasses of three elephant  that had been killed by poachers.

More than 500 endangered vultures died after eating three dead elephants whose carcasses were poisoned by poachers, the Botswana government said in a statement Thursday.

The 537 vultures and two tawny eagles were found dead in one of the country's protected wildlife management areas (WMA) in the eastern Central District.

Among the animals killed were 468 white-backed vultures, 28 hooded vultures, 17 white-headed vultures, 14 lappet-faced vultures and 10 cape vultures.

All are classified as either endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. 

Vultures perform a critical function in nature.  They have physical features that allow them to strip the carcasses of the dead completely and a digestive system that is a marvel of evolutionary design.