Vulture deaths prompt co-ordinated conservation response in South Africa’s Lowveld region

Widely publicised to the horror of the South African conservation fraternity, two mass vulture poisoning incidents that occurred last month in the Lowveld region have prompted a co-ordinated response.

A total of 225 vultures, including critically endangered species, were killed in the incidents.

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In Kruger National Park, 123 vultures died after poachers laced an elephant carcass with pesticide; while just days later, 102 vultures perished in Marloth Park, most of them breeding white-backed vultures.

Also lost were nine hooded vultures and one white-headed vulture – a species with fewer than 50 breeding pairs in South Africa.

“These consecutive attacks highlight an increasing and targeted threat to the vulture populations of southern Africa,” said a statement issued by WeWild Africa.

Poisoned carcasses were deliberately used to eliminate vultures, whose circling can alert rangers to poaching sites.

Wild and Free Wildlife Rehabilitation, based in Hectorspruit, is leading emergency responses, with over 50 years of combined veterinary experience and an on-site clinic.

The organisation has formalised a partnership with VulPro, Africa’s only vulture-focused conservation group.

With support from WeWild Africa and Over and Above Africa, they have launched a Lowveld-wide rapid response unit for poisoning events.

The coalition aims to improve real-time GPS monitoring, expand early-warning systems with rural communities, and advocate for stronger regulation of toxic substances like carbofuran and aldicarb.

The group also calls for recognising poisoning as a high-priority environmental crime.

The new alliance hopes to replicate successful interventions seen in other countries, such as Vulture Safe Zones in South Asia and judicial training programmes in Kenya.

With vultures playing a critical role in ecosystem balance, the conservation community urges urgent support for this regional initiative.

For more, visit www.vulpro.com and www.wildandfree.org.za

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