Africa is the continent of vultures (Accipitridae): up to 10 species, from deserts to wetlands, savannas, mountains and towns, including the atypical forest-associated Palm-nut Vulture Gypohierax angolensis. Their scavenging adaptations allow them to consume meat, bones and skins of wild as well as domestic animals of any size, but also faeces, garbage, and even a few living animals (e.g. White-headed Vulture Trigonoceps occipitalis). They compete for carrion with mammals, kites or insect larvae, but usually dominate by virtue of their size, numbers, speed of detection and sociability. They are key components of food chains and for centuries were essential cleaning agents of African villages and towns. Given their feeding habits, size and easy association with man, they were supposed to be less sensitive than other species to losses of biodiversity and natural habitats, also even to poisons and hunting pressure. Yet they are today among the most threatened taxa in Africa. So, what happened?
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