A vulture (photo illustration) -

Ausloos / Sipa

Botswana authorities and conservatives have launched an investigation after the discovery of dozens of carcasses of endangered vultures, which may have succumbed to poisoning, an expert said on Wednesday.

According to the country's wildlife manager, the raptors were discovered last week in the Makgadikgadi region (northeast).

"On October 22, at least 55 white-backed vultures were found dead, possibly from poisoning," he said.

Death of vultures from poisoning is not uncommon.

Record number of carcasses found

“We often see dead vultures all over the country.

The situation is worsening, the number of vultures is declining widely due to poisoning due to the misuse of agricultural chemicals, ”detailed the official.

As of June last year, a record 537 carcasses were found in the Chobe Game Reserve in northern Botswana.

The vultures had eaten the carcass of three elephants killed by poachers.

According to him, studies have shown that poisoning and the trade for traditional medicine are responsible for 90% of the deaths of these animals in Africa.

The white-backed vulture, also called the African vulture, is on the “red list” of endangered bird species drawn up by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

In September, the government of Botswana, a landlocked country between Zambia, Namibia and South Africa, announced that hundreds of elephants mysteriously found dead in the northern Okavango Delta region had succumbed to a bacteria.

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