KWS marks international vulture awareness day at Meru National Park

[ [Latest News] ] [ View Archives ]

Vultures feeding on a carcass at Amboseli National Park

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)  on September 3, 2011 marked the International Vulture Awareness Day at Meru National Park. The day has been set aside to raise awareness on the importance of these wildlife species in our environment as nature’s waste managers and solicit support for their continued conservation. Vultures play a critical in the ecosystem by maintaining an ecological balance through their "clean-up" work and removing carcasses that would otherwise rot and encourage disease. In Kenya, vultures play a vital role in not only wildlife health but in the pastoral livestock rearing lands and in community public health. Vultures have become increasingly threatened over the years hence the need to protect them and reverse their declining population. Poisoning, habitat loss and land use changes are some of the major threats on their existence and population.Various activities have been lined up to mark the celebrations that include oral presentations about the plight of vultures, field trips to vultures roosting sites, dances, songs, poems and drama by local communities , conservation groups and local community leaders