Vultures on the verge of extinction
If you raise your eyes and look into the trees , or, if you decide to visit any of the numerous abattoirs in the country, you may not see any Vultures. The drop in Vulture numbers is not just a Nigerian, but also a regional problem. In Liberia, the Vulture population has dropped, owing to […]
If you raise your eyes and look into the trees , or, if you decide to visit any of the numerous abattoirs in the country, you may not see any Vultures. The drop in Vulture numbers is not just a Nigerian, but also a regional problem. In Liberia, the Vulture population has dropped, owing to the fact that during the country’s 14-year civil war, Liberians suddenly began to consume Vultures, when there was a scarcity of meat. A butcher in Liberia confirmed this at Monrovia’s main abattoir.
Vultures clean up the environment and their absence may explain the frequent outbreak of diseases in the region. Ruth Akagu, Senior Conservation Officer , Species and IBA Programme, Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) says “Vultures play an extremely important ecological role in most terrestrial ecosystems. They keep the environment free of carcasses, waste (including human excrement), thereby restricting the spread of diseases (such as Anthrax and botulism) and pests such as rats. Hence their decline as a significant scavenger can lead to associated changes within their environment.”
The only Vultures seen during the investigation in Nigeria were dead ones being sold in markets. A live Vulture costs 20,000 Naira, while a dried one goes for 7,000 Naira. In Ibadan a live Vulture costs 25,000 Naira. Some of these Vultures, such as the dried ones seen at Giwa near Zaria, are said to have been imported from both Chad and Niger Republics. This may indicate a striking drop in the Vulture population locally, and naturally justifies the importation of same.
Yet, most Nigerian communities have ancient taboos, which forbid the killing or eating of Vultures. In Auchi, Weekly Trust gathered that Vultures always depart from a town where the inhabitants do not give the elders any respect. In most parts of the north, it is forbidden to eat of its meat, and the Vulture is seen as a ‘demonic bird’ in some quarters. A Yoruba incantation states ‘It is forbidden to kill a Vulture. It’s forbidden to use Vultures for rituals’.
Weekly Trust investigations reveal that there are no vultures in the abattoirs and markets in Lafia, Lagos, Suleja, Keffi, Owerri, Calabar, Auchi, Zaria, Ibadan and Lokoja, despite the fact that in some of the abatoirs such as the Oko-Oba abbatoir in Lagos, up to a hundred cows are slaughtered daily.
In the past Vultures would always circle round the abattoirs and places where cattle are kept. Certainly, they would hover around the cattle Fulani. This hardly happens today, but there was a reported sighting of Vultures at Auchi.
Tanko Dauda, is an Ornithologist and Conservationist at the Department of Biological Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He says “ today, people are no longer interested in conservation. That is one of the reasons why Ornithology has not received much interest. So, we have few individuals who are also interested in the field. These individuals, of course, are also engaged in other things. At the Ahmadu Bello University, we have only two scholars interested in the field. In Nigeria, people don’t understand the significance of studying birds. It’s a countrywide problem. At Jos we have an institute where young graduates are being trained in conservation. That is where we have a good number of Ornithologists coming up. But most of them leave the country upon graduation.
On laws relating to birds in the country, he says “the laws in Nigeria have to do with wildlife and larger mammals, but not birds.” The Vulture also pairs for life. This is a worrying event in a situation where one partner is killed, so says Tanko Dauda, who has done research on Vultures for close to a decade now.
Juju, not the main reason
Dauda identifies a number of factors which, taken together, may explain the drop in Vulture numbers. His words: “One of the factors is anthropogenic activities or human threats. It is possible that because of the search for money these days, people who prefer bush meat will kill Vultures to sell, as a replacement for bush meat. Another factor affecting the distribution of animals generally, as well as birds, is that of global warming. Birds require a particular climactic condition for them to survive,” he explains
According to him, “the major factor is habitat destruction. The Vultures require tall trees to raise their young ones and lay their eggs. When these tall trees are removed, they move to places where they can locate tall trees to raise their young ones. In such a situation, we would say they have gone extinct locally, gone extinct locally in the sense that we may not be seeing them in Zaria, but if you go to places where we still have thick vegetation, you will be surprised at the number you will see there.”
He argues that urbanization also makes the birds to move away from human habitation. “Where there is no source of food, they go to places where they can quickly access food and raise young ones without difficulty.”
He also sheds light on the hunt for Vultures to make charms. According to him, “the allegation that vultures are used for rituals is a reality , especially in the north where they are associated with evils. During my visit to the Zaria abattoir recently, the Butchers there told me a group of people, whom they believed were top politicians, came to ask if they could get Vultures. The use of Vultures for traditional medicines and juju, don’t seem to be strong reasons for the decline of Vultures. The use of vultures for medicines is as old as humanity, and the belief of people in the use and workability of those things, is declining with civilization. So, one will expect a decline in the hunt of Vulture for Juju and medicines.”
Not killed for meat
Philip Hall, an Environmental Consultant, and ornithologist with over 20 years experience in Nigeria comments on the reason why the population of Vultures has collapsed. His words: “There is evidence of widespread killing of Vultures throughout Nigeria , for the Juju trade, and no more so than in the South West where in a market in Ibadan alone, there were 260 Vulture carcasses in the Juju market . Vultures are not usually killed for meat, but entirely for their use in the Juju trade.” He comments on the species of Vultures available in the country. His words: “There has been a dramatic crash in the numbers of Vultures throughout Nigeria, to the extent that the large species are now extinct in the country.” The small hooded Vulture can still be found in parts of the country, but its numbers have also been seriously depleted. Reduction in numbers of Vultures started to become apparent in the past 20 years when they began disappearing from areas where formerly, they used to be common.” He adds that “all Vulture species can now be considered as threatened and their populations are threatened with complete extinction throughout the continent.”
A variety of reasons
Ruth Akagu said “reasons for the disappearance of Vultures are not well known. Various suggestions have been made though, ranging from deliberate poisoning of carnivorous animals, use of Vulture parts for witchcraft, loss of habitat and their use as bush meat. Other threats include power line collisions and electrocutions, disturbance of breeding sites, drowning in farm reservoirs, direct persecution and declining food availability’. She adds that there was a time when Vultures were preponderant all over the country. Her words: “It was a country wide phenomenon. Vultures were mostly sighted when you find carcasses of dead animals, but more in the northern part of the country. This is due largely to the occupation obtainable in some parts of the north, namely livestock rearing.” Finally, she adds that the Vulture population today is “vulnerable and threatened.”
‘It has declined’
Ulf Ottosson who works with APLORI, an organisation training Nigerians in Conservation Biology, says of the Vulture population, “it has declined. Apart from Hooded Vultures, hardly any other species breed any longer.” He speaks of a time when Vultures flourished at the Yankari Games Reserve. His words: “They were common especially in the Savannah areas. In 1988 or so, Arthur Green has seen 660 Vultures on one Hippo carcass in Yankari. Today, there is none left in Yankari.” On the significance of medicine as a contributing factor to the drop in Vulture populations, he says “direct hunting of it for food and medicine could have led to the crash of the Vulture population.” He also comments on the Vulture species available in the country. “There used to be at least five species of Vultures in Nigeria – Lappet-faced, white-backed, ruppels white headed and hooded. The first four are highly endangered and extinct, the last is vulnerable.” His opinion agrees with that of Philip Hall above, who points to five species of Vultures that have gone extinct in the country.
Vulture hunter looks back
Sani Lafia, not real name, used to hunt for Vultures some 20 years ago. He and a group of young boys as they were then, hunted these birds from Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State, through Makurdi, the Benue State capital, right up to Enugu in Nigeria’s South –East. His words: “I used to buy a rat killer which I would attach to pieces of meat. Then I would go to any of the abattoirs and place it near the Vultures. They would eat of it and later perish in the bush.” He adds that it was just the head of the Vultures that he and his group needed. The head which cost 50 Naira at that time, was then sold to their patrons , he recalls. According to him, sometimes he and his band of hunters used to catch between 50 and 100 Vultures during their daily hunt, which took them through most communities in the three states mentioned above. They also went after the very young Vultures or chicks. The hunt wasn’t all about the adult Vulture population. His words: “Sometimes, we would go to where they lay their eggs, climb the trees to get their eggs and the chicks.”
He says that he spent five years hunting for Vultures, and stopped only when his parents advised him against the habit. If his group caught 50 Vultures every day for five years, then the group must have played a significant role in the collapse of the Vulture population between Nasarawa and Enugu States. Fifty multiplied by the total days in five years would give 91,250 Vultures. Sani adds “today, there are no Vultures in the areas we once hunted, and so nobody hunts for Vultures again.”
‘I saw them 18 years ago’
Abubakar Nuhu sells cow heads at the Kano Abbatoir. He saw Vultures 18 years ago, and explains its disappearance. “People are using Vultures to do charms and local medicine. Someone who is insane can be cured with a charm made from Vulture parts. A group with a powerful history resident near the Federal Capital Territory, use it to make a person mad. They tie an amulet to the neck of the Vulture. When the Vulture flies, the man follows it and begins to wander around like an insane person. When the Vulture dies, amazingly, the man immediately dies.”
He also states that “if you see a Vulture today, this is because it was brought in from either Chad or Niger. We used to have a lot of these birds, but the population has been wiped out.”
‘It’s big business’
Usman Isa sells animal and bird parts on the everbusy IBB Way in Kano. It is a very profitable business, he says, smiling as he tries to slap a fly, which has settled on a monkey head. The trade supports him, his four wives and many children. He says “everybody, both Muslims and Christians, come here to buy either animal or bird parts. So, the sale of animal and bird parts is big business today.”
He is a walking encyclopedia on the medicinal uses of bird and animal parts. He too agrees that the population of Vultures has plummeted, and links this to the trade in bird parts, and the need by some to have powerful medicines made which require Vulture parts. He adds that people never ask for bird parts to battle a corrupt person. Rather, demands are made for love charms , as well as medicines which are useful for acts of revenge.
‘It tastes like chicken’
Shehu Danshanono sells animal and bird parts in Giwa. He says “Vulture parts are brought from Niger Republic and Chad into the country,” on account of the low population of Vultures . He goes on to say that he buys the complete dead Vulture when this is brought. “Sometimes, I buy the head only. This is because my clients sometimes want the full body. On other occasions they want just the head.”
He adds, however, that he does not know what they are doing with the Vulture parts . He has spent about 30 years in Giwa selling Vulture parts. He is also amazed at the sudden hunger for Vulture feathers, and wonders aloud what people need it for. He does not know if there are Vultures still left in Nigeria, but adds that it is more profitable to get the birds from either Chad or Niger. It costs between 3,500 and 4,000 Naira for one Vulture from Chad. A Vulture head costs between 2,500 and 3,000 Naira, while the egg costs 3,000 Naira. Long ago, he used to eat Vultures when the birds were quite common. His words: “It is very nice and tastes like chicken I ate Vulture meat last some 15 years ago.” He has within his shop Eagle, Monkey and snake heads. He says “all I do is to sell. I do not know what people use these items for.” Another respondent in Zaria boasts that a part of the Vulture can be used to make currency notes of any denomination, and can help stop pregnancy in the female.
The way forward
Philip Hall says “there are currently no programmes to address the decline in the numbers of Vultures in the country. The only solution now would be to establish a captive breeding programme similar to the ones in Asia ,where a similar programme exists.” He adds “the A.P.Leventis Ornithological Research Institute in Jos, is currently undertaking a nationwide survey of the remaining Vultures in the country,and the results of these are quite alarming. At this stage, we are powerless to do anything else other than to mount a concerted campaign to highlight the plight of the Vultures and endeavour to protect the remaining populations.
Ruth Akagu adds that her organisation, which is Nigeria’s largest and independent environmental NGO (NCF) is collaborating with the A.P.Leventis Ornithological Research Institute to embark on a nationwide survey project to address the issue of Vulture decline in the country. Ulf Ottosson of APLORI says that nothing is being done right now to address the situation, but states “we are just trying to monitor.”
Revive the myth
Tanko Dauda, commenting on the way out of the present situation, says that the government should embark on a serious enlightenment campaign that would educate people on the dangers of removing plants and animals from the environment. He also advocates the establishment of wildlife clubs at both the primary and secondary school levels. He adds that superstitious beliefs relating to the Vulture have disappeared, and argues for their return. His words: “We tend to fear Vultures, but superstitious beliefs have disappeared. If these beliefs can be restored, whereby people are told that if they kill Vultures, this is the penalty, this may stop people from going to attack and kill the Vultures.”