The scale of the tragedy is staggering: 123 vultures were found dead at the scene
More than 120 endangered vultures have died after consuming a poisoned elephant carcass in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, wildlife officials confirmed Thursday. The carcass was laced with toxic agrochemicals by suspected poachers, according to a joint statement by the park and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT).
“The scale of the tragedy is staggering: 123 vultures were found dead at the scene,” the statement said. The dead birds included white-backed vultures, Cape vultures, and a lappet-faced vulture—all endangered or critically endangered species.
An additional 84 vultures were evacuated for emergency treatment and monitoring by road and helicopter.
EWT’s birds of prey programme manager Gareth Tate said, “We have seen a massive spike in poaching for lion parts, for which sometimes vultures are the unintended victims.”
Tate added that birds of prey are also “maliciously targeted” because they act as sentinels that can expose the locations of other poaching incidents.
It was the worst such incident since 2019 in Botswana.