Status and Conservation of wintering Egyptian

Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) in Ethiopia

Yilma D Abebe
Ethiopian Wildlife & Natural History Society
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
7th July 2015
Sofia, Bulgaria
 Outline of presentation
What we know
Sites
Numbers
Trends
Threats
What we dont know (Gaps in Knowledge)
Urgent Conservation Actions
 Status and Trends

The Egyptian Vulture is one of eight (HV, WBV,

RV, WHV, GV, BV, LFV) vulture spp in Ethiopia.
 What we know
Despite its importance, we know very little
about the wintering population of EV in Eth.
EV has a resident and wintering population in
the country.
While this species has been considered a
common to frequent species in the country in
the past this trend may not be the case today.
 EV appear to associate closely with human
habitations inhabiting a broad habitat type
from sea level to 2500 m asl.
 Sites

The arid Afar Region in northeastern Ethiopia

evidently forms the optimum habitat for migrating
forms.
 Numbers
According to Birdlife International, Ethiopia
holds approx. 3% of the global population of
EV.

Counts conducted in the past show that there

has been a gradual decline in numbers.

 Numbers
1996 (Sigismondi and Politano) - 1473 birds
over 75 km of power lines.
December 2009 1424 birds
December 2010 1400 birds
January 2013 1082 birds

In many regards the results after 2000 are not

really comparable to the one in 1996.
 Numbers
Counts in 1996 resulted in high numbers in less
than a 100 km transect while recent counts had
to cover more ground for nearly a similar effect.
A better comparison exists for counts between
2009 2013.
Even these counts show a gradual decrease if
they reflect a true picture of what is happening
on the ground.
 Numbers and Trends
On the other hand the absolute numbers seen
may not reflect a true decrease but a limited
sampling effort that may well be adjusted with
more surveys.
Arkumarev et al describe that if more area
were covered (beyond road-based transects),
it is probable that more birds could have been
counted.
 All things being equal, there is no doubt that numbers
of migratingNumbers
EV have fallenand Trends
drastically since the mid
90s in Ethiopia.

This bird is known in the highlands of the country where it

nests in cliff faces and gorges.
What we dont really know
 Threats

Electrocution and Collision

Food shortage?
Competition?
Poisoning?
Persecution?
 EV death and their reasons
We have not seen mass die off of EV in Afar or
elsewhere in Ethiopia.
But numbers are going down from year to
year.
How much of these birds are we losing every
year to one or another reason?
Do they mainly die in wintering grounds or
elsewhere?
 What are their limiting factors?

More succinctly:
What are the requirements of a wintering
population of EV in Ethiopia?
Roosting sites?
Food?
Competition from similar sized vultures?
Hoodeds maybe?
 Urgent Measures
Research and
regular monitoring
 Urgent measures
Community awareness
creation
 Urgent Measures
Conservation with a human face
 Urgent measures- Tourism
Afar Region has various
tourist attractions
including nature,
wildlife and archeology
 Urgent measures- Tourism
Ethiopia hosting one of the largest population of EV
in the region, it could perhaps act as a positive
income generator.
Ecotourism can act as a vehicle to support a
sustained income generation to achieve interest and
commitment in local people. It will also ensure
conservation of the species as long as it acts as a
central piece of attraction.
e.g. Stationing vulture restaurants specifically for the
benefit of the EV and tourists
Urgent measures
Government legislation
Ethiopian Government through its
Ministry of Environment and Forest
attempt to uplist EV (other vulture
species as well) to on the national
endangered list.
Beyond uplisting, a national species
action plan that outlines the status,
problems and solutions for both
resident and migratory forms of the
species is very important.
Thank you!!