Zim poachers poison vultures to cover tracks
Sapa | 05 September, 2012 08:31
Poachers in Zimbabwe recently poisoned 183 vultures in a single event, in an
attempt to cover their tracks, according to a report on Wednesday.
Beeld reported that the vultures died after the poachers killed an elephant
and smeared poison on the carcass in Zimbabwe’s Gona re Zhou National Park.
Andre Botha, a spokesman for the Endangered Wildlife Trust, told the
newspaper on Tuesday that poisoned vultures could end up breeding in the
Kruger Park.
Botha said the disturbing new poisoning trend had originated in East Africa,
where poaching had spiralled out of control.
The poachers poison vultures because they alert nature conservation
authorities to the presence of a fresh carcass, and therefore the
whereabouts of the criminals.
Botha warned that it was only a matter of time before the trend filtered
across the South African border.
He said he had heard about the incident in the Gona re Zhou National Park
from Professor Peter Mundy of the University of Bulawayo.