In today’s increasingly fragile ecosystems, the role of each species—no matter how misunderstood—has never been more crucial. Among these unsung heroes of the wild are vultures, nature’s efficient cleanup crew. Often overlooked and unfairly maligned, vultures perform an essential ecological service: they dispose of carrion, control disease spread, and help maintain balance in our environment.
Yet, despite their vital role, vulture populations across Africa, including Nigeria, are plummeting at alarming rates. Habitat loss, poisoning, wildlife trafficking, and harmful traditional practices continue to push these birds toward extinction. In a country rich in biodiversity like Nigeria, their disappearance could trigger a cascade of negative ecological and public health consequences.
To unpack the urgency behind protecting these misunderstood birds, Ajibola Adedoye, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Daily Insight Nigeria, sought an expert opinion of Dr. Stella Egbe, Senior Conservation Manager at the Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF). With years of field experience and a deep understanding of Nigeria’s conservation challenges, Dr. Egbe has been at the forefront of national efforts to protect vulture populations and raise public awareness about their importance.
In this exclusive interview, Dr. Egbe shares insights into why vultures matter, the threats they face, and what is being done—and what more must be done—to secure their future in Nigeria.
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The Interview:
Can you give us an overview of the vulture species found in Nigeria?
Nigeria is blessed with several species of vultures. Actually, we have seven species. And of that seven, one is least concerned, meaning that the threshold is not set at a point where we are concerned, and that is the Palm-Nut Vulture, It can be found in the forest areas of the country. But the remaining six are different levels of endangerment or threats. We have one migratory vulture, the Egyptian vulture, which has become increasingly rare in the country, while the Hooded Vulture is the most common. But even though it is common, we’ve had about 95% loss in the total population of vultures. Key urban centers that used to hold vultures, they can no longer be seen in those areas, and, this is the dire state of the group in in across the country.
Why are vultures important to Nigeria’s ecosystem?
Pertaining the roles of vultures in the ecosystem, they’ve rightly been named the nature’s cleanup crew. In that, they have this specialized task of getting rid of, carcasses, rotting flesh that normally holds, different kinds of pathogens.
And if these pathogens are not well eliminated from the ecosystem, they can become part of the runoffs. Where other entities within the ecosystem consume them. It becomes a problem-it’s toxic. And the virtual digestive system is specialized enough to digest such pathogens. The ultimate cost of such a service would be to consider what we use in terms of the cost of environmental sanitation, especially as regards to organic waste. So vultures played a critical role in the ecosystem. In countries like India where there’s been extensive research on the decline of vultures on the public health system, they observed an increase in the rise of zoonotic diseases that come from dead and rotten flesh of dogs and rats. So these are some of the key roles that vultures play. And, in certain cases, the role of a species in the ecosystem, you cannot put a boundary to it because sometimes it is when we lost a particular specialty in the ecosystem that we understand that the function they play is far beyond what we’ve been able to measure. And that is why we must, carry out all efforts to ensure that we do not lose, the total population of all source in the country.
What are some traditional beliefs or cultural attitudes toward vultures in Nigeria?
Nigeria is a very large country with different cultures, different traditions and beliefs across the country. While in some area, you have, some virtual friendly cultural practices. In other areas, the opposite is the case. Generally, in the practice of traditional religion, the custom is similar across various sites in that, people appease and pray and offer up sacrifices. And vultures are one of the key species that have been identified even in those cultural practices to help, take up these sacrifices. And in the event that they are not taken up, those sacrifices are not seen as accepted. So in the past, vultures have played a key role even in our ancient or our cultural beliefs. And the impact of some of these cultures are seen in some areas today. However, with things have also evolved in that, the same vultures are now being used in some cultural practices, especially when it comes to the belief-based use of vultures, basically, looking at spiritual use. So in that angle, it has actually evolved. If you look at the Yoruba culture, for example, there are sayings, that discourage the use of vulture, the consumption of vulture, and the killing of vulture. However, that is not the case today. In the northern part of the country where there is some, levels of belief based use as well, culturally, there’s never been, any belief against vultures. However, that has changed because, the use of vultures in belief-based have become, very predominant. And, it’s a dynamic to summarize, the beliefs and culture towards vultures across Nigeria is dynamic and can vary from place to place.
What are the major threats currently facing vultures in Nigeria?
Some of the key threats to vultures include, indiscriminate killing. Nigeria is a very religious society, and, our entertainment and our cultural beliefs, have made some animals, become representatives of bad omens, and the vulture, unfortunately, falls into one of such categories. As this has led to the indiscriminate killing of vultures in certain quarters and then contributing to their decline. Another threat to vultures is habitat loss. Vultures would normally dwell on very huge trees, and we understand, that logging is a very common practice in Nigeria where huge trees outside of, protected areas especially are being, indiscriminately removed. And this is taking out some of the natural habitats of vultures. And in doing that, in combination with other factors and the low reproductive rates of vultures, the decline becomes very steep. Another threat to vulture is the demand for traditional medicine practice. This is not restricted to Nigeria. It’s also a regional thing. And so vultues have been traded across borders. Vultures have been killed in their numbers to meet this demand. These are some of the key threats towards, Nigeria’s virtual population. And, these are some of the things that we’re trying to address through the International Vulture Day Awareness.
How does illegal wildlife trade affect vulture populations?
Because there are laws guiding the trade in vultures CITES explicitly list vultures as some of the key species that should not be traded, and this is reflected in our Endangered Species Act of Nigeria. And, also, vultures are prioritized in the National Biodiversity Action Plan of Nigeria. Yes. Illegal wildlife trade is going on and an investigation into our traditional wildlife markets would tell anyone more about that. There’s also a lot of trade going on across the country’s boundaries. And all of this points to the fact that there is been consistent demand in vulture and vulture parts. So when you put together all of the threats and this high demand for belief-based use, you realize that the rates surpassed the natural breeding rates of vultures. Hence, an imbalance in the ability of the species to recover. This is the major cause of concern.
How has the use of poisons or toxic substances contributed to vulture deaths?
Poisons are the are the instruments that are utilized to meet the demand to kill vultures, to meet the demand. So it is all linked. If there is no illegal wildlife trade, there’ll be no need for hunters to go to areas with existing vulture populations to poison them to meet that demand. So all of it is a chain reaction. There is the demand for vultures for belief-based use, and then there is thus a market that is to be filled by illegal hunters, that go to areas with vulture population to take them illegally. And so the use of poison, has contributed to the decline in vulture population.
Are there specific regions in Nigeria where vultures are more at risk?
Vultures are at risk in all the parts of the country. In some parts, of course, the distribution of species is not always even across the country. So you would say that some areas would favor a species more than others. But if you look at species like the Hooded Vulture, for example, they are ubiquitous, they are used to be found everywhere but that’s not the situation anymore. But the Hooded Vultures used to be found across major areas, all over the country, and that is not the situation anymore. So there is no area where vultures are, more at risk than other areas. However, there are a few areas where the traditional beliefs have contributed to the persistence of the species. There are a few areas in the country that still retain some viable population of the species.
What conservation programs or policies are currently in place to protect vultures in Nigeria?
In line with what we do to conserve vultures, we have carried out a nationwide survey to know where you still have population of vultures and we are carrying out some projects in partnerships with the local communities raising awareness, ensuring that the local people, are the owners of the conservation efforts and they lead in protecting the species. And that’s because the linkage to the persistence of the species is tied to the historical beliefs that frown upon the killing of vultures. And that’s one thing that has driven the persistence of vultures in some communities in Anambra and Rivers States where we are working to ensure that the vulture population in those areas recover. Because in recovering them, they can now spread to areas where they would continue to help regulate the menace of organic waste in our environment.
In addition to the community-based engagements to protect vultures, we also engage some of the end users in the chain of illegal wildlife trade, raising awareness, ensuring that begin to look at and adopt the use of sustainable options and alternatives in the place of these vultures. And because we trust that in doing that, then there is a decline. And this would help Nigeria to reduce its role in the transit of vultures or as a source of vultures in the illegal trade cycle.
Can you talk about any local or international partnerships involved in vulture protection?
The vulture conservation effort is while there are a lot of local efforts, it’s always in partnership with the instruments of government, international partners like CITES, like BedLife International, and all that such donors that contribute and support the work that we are all doing. There’s also the regional collaboration with other countries, partners in other countries, governments in other countries that contribute to the conservation of migratory birds. And we like I mentioned, when I talked about the species of vultures we still have in Nigeria, that we have the Egyptian Vulture, which is a migratory species. And in the sense that migratory species connect all of us, we must play our key roles within our local spaces to ensure that we are providing the enabling and suitable environment for biodiversity to thrive and contributing to global stock.
In terms of the regional and international partnerships, there are policy documents that have been puts put together, like the West African Vulture Conservation Action Plan, that all countries under the region have adopted, to play their parts in contributing to the conservation and protection of vultures, within the region. And we’re scaling this down to country levels and teasing it apart so that the different agents in the chain that have been have been evaluated would continue to play their parts to that document. We also have international agreements like the Convention on Biological Diversity that, most conservation efforts is hinged on, which we trust that all species have a role to play and we play our part as a country in protecting and conserving them.
How are local communities being involved in vulture conservation efforts?
In terms of local partnership, we work with different stakeholders, engaging wildlife traders, traditional medicine practitioners, educating, schools and general education for our communities, law enforcement, government departments, and all that’s within the value chain. Communities leading and taking part building capacity of communities to take leading parts in conservation of vultures. These are the different levels of partnerships that we are involved in when it comes to vulture conservation.
Are there any success stories or positive trends in vulture conservation you can share?
Some of the success stories, involved are the community-based conservation efforts, where awareness has impacted people within those communities in that while they don’t kill vultures, they are not actively involved in protecting them. However, following awareness and engagements and the adoption of community-based leadership in the conservation of the species. Communities are now becoming more conversant and interested in protecting vultures within their spaces. And these are this the change in behavior is one of the huge successes we can say. Because where humans are involved, and they are within the local space, then they can take active measures to protect the existing virtual population.
How can traditional healers or traders be engaged in reducing the demand for vulture parts?
We currently have been engaging traditional healers in vulture conservation through the advocacy for the adoption of plant-based alternatives to the use of vultures. This is an expanding program and the traditional medicine practitioners are also taking on a leadership in this space helping to propel the messages to their counterparts and this is something that we hope to sustain until we get the message far and wide.
What are some misconceptions people have about vultures, and how are they being addressed?
The general misconception about vultures is how they’ve been represented. They’ve been misrepresented as evil omens alongside other such species. And this is because they do not particularly look attractive in the sense of humans. They are not very colorful birds. And, tackling that involves educating people on why they’ve evolved to look like what they are, how their baldness helps in properly consuming carcass and ensuring that we don’t have toxic waste within our environment. And because that environment is shared with other entities, the whole ecosystem benefits from such a function. And that education is what changes people’s mind towards the physical look of vultures. And vultures are not consuming dead bodies because they are evil. They are just helping us to clean our environment. And, such education changes human response over time.
Are there any laws or regulations that protect vultures in Nigeria?
Definitely, there are laws protecting vultures in Nigeria, we have an Endangered Species Act that guides on how people should exploit different species within the environment. We have the National Biodiversity Action Plan-although it’s a policy, The role of that policy documents is to raise awareness among key stakeholders. And, the Enforcement of the Endangered Species Act is, rested upon the NESRA, which is an instrument of government that involved in enforcing environmental laws. And, vultures like other species, are under such schedules and listed, and so they are protected under that.
How effectively are these laws enforced, and what are the penalties for violations?
The effectiveness of these laws, of course, they vary because resources for enforcement are often very limited, and this can be very challenging. And enforcement is also very difficult where awareness is low. So, as we continue to pair awareness and enforcement, we hope to see a change in behavior of people, and this would now be reflected in the recovery of vulture population across the country.
What role does the Nigerian government play in supporting vulture conservation?
The government is the main body when it comes to the enforcement of existing laws that are guiding the conservation and the protection of endangered species, invariably, vulture in this case. And so the government plays a pivotal role. And most of the all of the work that we do is hinged upon the laws that an international agreement that our country is a part of. So, government is key vulture conservation. Organizations like Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), hinge upon the policies the government has agreed to and, also adopt local and international measures in designing conservation interventions. And so, government is a leader and also a key partner, and we continue to work with, with the government on this front.
What can the public do to help protect vultures?
For the public, there needs to be a lot of awareness, for those who know to keep sharing, knowledge with those who do not. If you take random assessment of your every everyday Nigerian on what they understand about the vultures, a lot of people are still unaware. And this is something that we try to do by engaging in awareness. That’s why the International Vulture Awareness Day is very pronounced is a very pronounced celebration. It’s, an opportunity to educate people. And because, the more people understand and are part of this effort, the easier it is to get the desired results and outcomes that we seek.
What are your hopes or predictions for the future of vultures in Nigeria?
Because wild birds can be very reactive to environmental changes. They’re also a species that can recover given the right circumstances and situation. And so I predict that all of the efforts that are currently ongoing would in the future be turn out positive for our vulture population. Not just for our vulture population, but for the ecosystem generally and other species that are currently threatened within the ecosystem.
What are the key actions needed right now to prevent further decline in vulture populations?
Some of the actions needed is continuous awareness, effective enforcement of existing laws so that this can be deterrent for further abuse of such laws, protecting existing population that will now become a stock for re-populating areas that have lost their vulture population, these are some key steps that we need to continue to embrace and expand for result.
If you could send one message to Nigerians about vultures, what would it be?
My message will be that people should be more aware of their environment, be cautious of changes that are happening around them because whatever major change that we see in our environment begins with smaller changes that are happening, the disappearance of one species and the alteration of one small habitat, when you sum it up on a grounder scale you see bigger impact and bigger result. And so, if we take cognizance of these small changes around us and we try to fix them before they become bigger then we can halt some of the decline that we see when it comes to our biodiversity and in this case, the vultures.
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