Ramsco's Women Empowerment Initiative Recognized Among Top BRICS Businesswomen Practices for 2025    Egypt, Elsewedy review progress on Ain Sokhna phosphate complex    Gold prices end July with modest gains    Pakistan says successfully concluded 'landmark trade deal' with US    Egypt's FM, US envoy discuss Gaza ceasefire, Iran nuclear talks    Modon Holding posts AED 2.1bn net profit in H1 2025    Egypt's Electricity Ministry says new power cable for Giza area operational    Egypt's Al-Sisi, Italian defence minister discuss Gaza, security cooperation    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, Nile dam with US senators    Aid airdrops intensify as famine deepens in Gaza amid mounting international criticism    Health minister showcases AI's impact on healthcare at Huawei Cloud Summit    On anti-trafficking day, Egypt's PM calls fight a 'moral and humanitarian duty'    Federal Reserve maintains interest rates    Egypt strengthens healthcare partnerships to enhance maternity, multiple sclerosis, and stroke care    Egypt keeps Gaza aid flowing, total tops 533,000 tons: minister    Indian Embassy to launch cultural festival in Assiut, film fest in Cairo    Egyptian aid convoy heads toward Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens    Culture minister launches national plan to revive film industry, modernise cinematic assets    Rafah Crossing 'never been closed for one day' from Egypt: PM    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Egypt, Oman discuss environmental cooperation    Egypt's EDA explores pharma cooperation with Belarus    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Endangered Species: Egypt''s vultures
Published in Almasry Alyoum on 22 - 03 - 2011

Less than a century ago, it was common to see vultures flying over Cairo and nesting in some of the city's buildings. Today, the vulture population in Egypt is drastically declining due to various threats.
Six species of vultures are recorded in Egypt today, even though some are quite rare and seldom spotted. One such species is the "bearded vulture", which is a rare resident of the mountains of the Eastern Desert and Southern Sinai. This big travelling bird has the particuliarity of dropping from great heights the bones it gathers from carcasses, thus breaking them and accessing the marrow inside the bone.
The "Egyptian vulture" is one of the most common in Egypt, while the "griffon vulture" has become scarce, just like the "Rüppell's vulture" which is considered a rarity.
The "lappet-faced vulture", which used to be seen in the country's desert areas is now mostly found in the southeastern part of the Eastern Desert, and is considered "rare". Finally, the sixth species, the "black vulture", has also become uncommon.
These six species of vulture found in Egypt have declined significantly, according to Mindy Baha al-Din, who is a bird specialist with the non-governmental organization Nature Conservation Egypt (NCE). Although no recent study has been conducted to determine the exact size of the vulture population in Egypt, she is adamant that there has been a massive decline.
“One of the main threats that is endangering these birds is the secondary poisoning that occurs when the vulture feeds on an animal carcass like a stray dog or cat which has been poisoned by humans," she says.
According to Baha al-Din, farmers use pesticides to get rid of pests, and have a tendency to use poison indiscriminately, with often fatal consequences for these scavengers.
Researchers from Europe have equipped some of the migratory vultures with transmitters to be able to monitor where they are going. “When these transmitters stop beeping, it means that the bird is dead, then we can localize it and try to figure out what caused its death. And in doing so, we have a more comprehensive idea of the major threats against the population,” she says.
“The rarefaction of wild animals like gazelles, on which vultures traditionally feed, is also causing their decline, coupled with the fact that camel caravans no longer pass from Sudan to Egypt, depriving the vultures of an importance source of food,” continues Baha al-Din.
Electrocution when colliding with power lines is also killing many of these birds, along with collisions with windmills.
Vultures also feed on rubbish dumps and absorb hazardous material that can cause their death, and Baha al-Din believes that “there should be a proper waste collection system that would separate this hazardous matrials from the rest in order to avoid poisoning these birds.”
Egypt's rich and varied wildlife is also threatened, to a lesser extent, by Maltese hunters who practice indiscriminate hunting in one of Egypt's biggest National Park, Gebel Elba. A park ranger from the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) declared last year that Maltese poachers were caught with two lappet-faced vultures and other birds at Bir Shalatin, although access to the park is controlled.
Baha al-Din, who is well aware of the Maltese poachers' story, explains that these hunters kill birds and mammals indiscriminately, before smuggling them out of the country to add them to their private stuffed animals collection.
“The authorities should really try harder to stop these poachers from entering the protected zones,” she says vehemently.
Little of a concrete nature has been done to protect Egypt's vultures so far, aside from the creation years ago of a “feeding station” or “vultures' restaurant” close to Shalateen.
Mohamed Gad, who used to be the manager of the Gebel Elba National Park, explains that this feeding station, visited by eco-tourists, was created “to give vultures a safe access to uncontaminated carcasses that are brought from the nearby camel market of Shalateen.”


Clic here to read the story from its source.