– Vulture Conservation

Elevate are proud to sponsor Vultures Namibia.

Lappet Faced Vultures are an endangered species and Vultures Namibia perform essential work in helping to further understand, track and protect these unique creatures.

Elevate’s sponsorship contributes to one of the most valuable parts of the protection program, which is satellite tracking. Each GPS tracker is monitored each hour per vulture. It’s amazing to see how far vultures travel.

Here are some interesting facts about Lappet Faced Vultures. Some you may already know but you’ll probably learn something new about these amazing birds (the answers to these questions have been kindly provided by Vultures Namibia).

What role do Lappet Vultures play in the ecosystem?

“They are nature’s ‘clean-up crew’. By removing carcasses of dead animals they prevent the spread of diseases such as rabies, anthrax, and foot and mouth disease. This is very important because it affects human welfare as well. Don’t forget the financial implications of controlling these diseases. We are all familiar with how difficult it has been to control the spread of Covid and the global financial impact it has caused.”

Why are Lappet Vultures endangered?

“Several reasons: Poisoning, both deliberate and accidental, is probably the main culprit, as well as habitat loss, collisions with and electrocution by power infrastructure, drowning in reservoirs and lack of food.”

What is the current population and how does it compare to estimates from previous years.

“In Africa about 8000 individuals, 500 pairs in Namibia, probably declining by more than 10% over the past 20 years.”

In which countries do Lappet Vultures live?

“They occur throughout southern and eastern Africa and the Sahel. There is a small population in the Arabian Peninsula, but that is a different subspecies.”

Why is the Namib Desert important to the Lappet Vulture and are there any areas that are more important than others?

“Together with the Kalahari in Botswana, the Namib is the breeding stronghold for Lappet-faced Vultures in southern Africa. The central Namib i.e. the area between the Swakop and Kuiseb Rivers is by far the most important one due to the large number of breeding pairs inhabiting this area.”

What is the life cycle of the Lappet Vulture including pair bonding, breeding cycle and breeding success?

“We have some marked birds that are 10-15 years old, but we don’t really know how old they can possibly get. They are believed to be bonded for life, although this hasn’t been unequivocally substantiated. Nest building starts in early May. Egg laying is not synchronous and takes place over about two months. Once the single egg is laid, incubation is about 60 days. The fledgling remains under parental care for around another 120 days before it is able to fly. Quite how long the parents will still keep provisioning the chicks thereafter is not known, although we know from tracker data that the fledged birds can return to their nest site for some months. We do not know if they breed every year. From our work in the Namib we know that breeding success varies from year-to-year and is most likely dependent on rainfall, which will, in turn, influence food availability.”

What is their diet, and do they kill for food or only scavenge?

“They are pure scavengers.”

What are the benefits to the Lappet Vulture from Elevate Uranium sponsoring this project?

Comprehensive information on the movements of the birds will help inform decisions, which will effect both local and international Species Action Plans.

For more information about the Lappet Vulture and the important work being undertaken by Vultures Namibia, we encourage you to visit their website.

Vultures Namibia

Vulture Conservation