White-backed vulture

The white-backed vulture (Gyps africanus) is an

Old World vulture in the family Accipitridae, which White-backed vulture
also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is
the most common vulture species in the continent of
Africa.[2]

Description
The white-backed vulture is a typical vulture, with
only down feathers on the head and neck, very broad
wings and short tail feathers. It has a white neck ruff.
The adult's whitish back contrasts with the otherwise
dark plumage. Juveniles are largely dark. This is a At Etosha National Park
medium-sized vulture; its body mass is 4.2 to 7.2 kg
(9.3–15.9 lb), it is 78 to 98 cm (31 to 39 in) long and
has a 1.96 to 2.25 m (6 ft 5 in to 7 ft 5 in)
wingspan.[3][4][5]

Distribution and habitat

The white-backed vulture occurs from Senegal, At Lower Sabie, Kruger National Park
Gambia and Mali in the west, throughout the Sahel
Conservation status
region to Ethiopia and Somalia in the east, through
East Africa into Mozambique, Zimbabwe,
Botswana, Namibia and South Africa in the south.[1]
It is the most widespread and common vulture in
Africa with an estimated range of 24,300,000 km2 Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1]
(9,400,000 sq mi), but has undergone rapid
Scientific classification
population declines in recent years.[1]
Domain: Eukaryota
Conservation Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
The white-backed vulture, like many African
vultures, has suffered a rapid decline. When it was Class: Aves
first assessed in 1988 it was classified as a Least
Order: Accipitriformes
concern species owing to a large range and
population. It was reassessed from a Least Concern Family: Accipitridae
to Near Threatened species in the 2007 IUCN Red
Genus: Gyps
List after the beginnings of a major decline were
noticed.[6] In 2012, more information was available Species: G. africanus
about population trends, and the estimates suggested Binomial name
that within the next three generations the white-
backed vulture would decrease by 50%. Gyps africanus
Consequently it was added to the list of Endangered Salvadori, 1865
species.[7] In October 2015, it was further uplisted to
Critically Endangered because the decline had reach
a magnitude that puts the vulture at an extreme risk
of extinction.[1]

The population size of the white-backed vulture has

been decreasing significantly within the past few
decades. In 1992, the population was estimated at
270,000. Over the past two decades, its population
has noticeably decreased. BirdLife international
estimated that over the past 40 years, the population
of the white-backed vulture has decreased annually
by a mean of 4.1%, culminating to an overall decline Extant (resident)
that lies between 63 and 89%, and such harrowing Extant (non-breeding)
declines have also been recorded in the populations
Possibly extant (resident)
of its other African relatives.[1] A recent study found
that white-backed vultures have a high survival rate. Possibly extinct
Individual adults have the highest survival rate, while Extinct
2 year old birds have the lowest survival rate. Across
all ages, the survival rate is estimated to be 90.7%. This means that
the deaths of adult vultures will lead to rapid population declines.
The loss of adults will cause less reproduction and with younger
birds less likely to survive, the population will drop drastically. A
major cause of population decrease is the loss of habitat and
anthropogenic disturbance. Fires have also caused the destruction
of trees used for nesting habitat. Humans also have a large impact.
Power lines have caused many vultures to be electrocuted. In
Kenya especially, humans are using a toxic pesticide called
Furadan, which has led to many vulture deaths. Vultures are also
being poisoned by humans, although not intentionally. In order to
kill hyenas, lions, and other predators, herders add poisons into
their livestock. Vultures ingest the poison upon eating a deceased Preening at the Kgalagadi
animal's carcass. This poisoning generally occurs outside of Transfrontier Park
protected areas but is a leading factor in the population's decline.
Habitats are also being disturbed by human land management and
direct nesting persecution patterns.

More recent studies have indicated a new plausible factor in the current declination of the vultures.
Researches have seen that there has been a rise in toxicity in the liver, kidneys, pectoral region, and internal
organs. This toxicity is caused by higher levels of lead, cadmium, zinc, and copper. Although most of these
metals level out as either non harmful or normal levels, the lead concentrate in the liver of the vultures
(8.56 µg/g wet weight) and in the kidneys (9.31 µg/g wet weight) is higher than the average levels.

Studies have also been performed on the white-backed vulture and some species of Asian vultures within
the Gyps clade to see the effect of veterinary diclofenac.[8] Regardless of whether the vultures were given
an oral or intravenous dose of the substance, the effects was nearly identical and the diclofenac eventually
poisoned the subjects.[9] This chemical is one of the greatest contaminants for the general vulture
population because of its presence in livestock: easy food for the vultures.
Another study shows that there are heightened levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HPA's), which
is not as likely a product in the endangerment resultant, but still concerning. HPA's, also known as
polyaromatic hydrocarbons, are formations of hydrogen atoms surrounding rings of carbon. As common as
these compounds are—found in foods, engines/incinerators, fires, combustion—there are many forms, and
some carcinogenic. Although there is no direct correlation of the high levels of HPA's in the vultures, there
is still a plausibility that it can result in a negative outcome for the species.

Another reason for the decline in the number of white-backed vultures is the decrease in the number of their
nesting sites, which they construct in trees in savannah areas and which are roughly 1 meter in diameter.
There is an inverse relationship between the amount of human activity (farming, ranching, etc.) and the
amount of vulture nesting activity in said area, so as the amount of human activity in Africa expands, the
number of nesting sites available decreases, putting the vultures at jeopardy. [10]

On the 20th of June 2019, the corpses of 468 white-backed vultures, 17 white-headed vultures, 28 hooded
vultures, 14 lappet-faced vultures and 10 cape vultures, altogether 537 vultures, besides 2 tawny eagles,
were found in northern Botswana. It is suspected that they died after eating the corpses of 3 elephants that
were poisoned by poachers, possibly to avoid detection by the birds, which help rangers to track poaching
activity by circling above where there are dead animals. Most of them were new parents, leaving their
young orphaned and "ill-equipped" for survival. Vultures are slow breeders, and losing over 400 on a week
is a devastating blow for the species.[11][12][13][14]

Diet and feeding behaviour

White-backed vultures are obligate scavengers with a high level of
specialization on carrion. Their primary food sources are the
carcasses of large, grazing animals found the wooded savannahs
where it lives. This includes warthogs, zebras, gazelles, ostriches
and even livestock. Their beaks are medium-sized not adapted for
tearing through tough skin, so they are limited to eating soft tissues,
such as the viscera, using a pulling feeding tactic. [15]

White-backed vultures circle through the sky in search of freshly Group feeding on a zebra carcass,
dead animals, often following other scavenger birds and Upper Lupande GMA, Zambia
mammalian carnivores to find it. [16] Gyps vultures are considered
social vultures which rely heavily on conspecifics to provide
information about the position of food and carcasses.[17] Once a carcass is found, they will begin wheeling
in the sky, signalling their discovery to other vultures. White-backed vultures feed in groups and are often
one of the first vulture species to arrive at a carcass.[18] This leads to this species having a high dominance
at carcasses in comparison to other vulture species such as white-headed, hooded, and Egyptian vultures.

After feeding, white-backed vultures often rest with their wings spread and their backs facing the sun, as
they have gorged themselves so much they can no longer fly.

Breeding
White-backed vultures nest in trees. They typically choose tall trees along riparian habitats and show strong
a preference for Acacia species. The nests are large, around 1m in diameter, and are made of large sticks
and lined with leaves and grasses.
A study which monitored 32 African white-backed vulture nests in the
Masai Mara National Reserve during the period 2003 to 2007 showed
that the mean nesting success was 59%.[19] Another long-term study
conducted in Linyanti, Botswana found that there were rapid declines
in nesting numbers during a 10 year period.[20] In 2007, there were
73 breeding pairs nesting in the area with a minimum density of 14.9
nests per 100 square kilometers. By 2017, this declined to 22 breeding
pairs nesting and 4.49 nests per 100 square kilometers. In addition to a
decrease in the number of active nests in the area, breeding success
declined from 62% in 2006 to 37% in 2017.

White-backed vultures face threats from habitat degradation and

poaching; as such they have been shown to avoid anthropogenically-
disturbed areas when selecting nest sites and protection status is also a
strong determinant of site selection.[21]
White-backed Vulture eggs in a
White-backed vultures have a long breeding cycle. The incubation nest in Atherstone Nature
period is around 8 weeks and the nestling period is about 4–5 Reserve
months.[22]

Ecology
The tick Argas theilerae (also known as Theiler's African White-
backed vulture argasid) is a parasite of the White-backed vulture.[23]

See also
Egg
Footnotes
1. BirdLife International (2021). "Gyps africanus" (https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/2269518
9/204461164). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T22695189A204461164.
doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22695189A204461164.en (https://doi.org/10.2305%2
FIUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22695189A204461164.en). Retrieved 2022-05-30.
2. "white-backed vulture" (https://africageographic.com/stories/vultures/). african geographic.
Retrieved 20 September 2022.
3. "White-backed vulture videos, photos and facts - Gyps africanus" (https://archive.today/2012
0529131322/http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/birds/Gyps_africanus/more_info.html?secti
on=factsAndStatus). ARKive. Archived from the original (http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/
birds/Gyps_africanus/more_info.html?section=factsAndStatus) on 2012-05-29. Retrieved
2011-05-31.
4. Raptors of the World by Ferguson-Lees, Christie, Franklin, Mead & Burton. Houghton Mifflin
(2001), ISBN 0-618-12762-3
5. "African White-backed Vulture" (http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-af-white-backed-vulture.
html). Oiseaux-birds. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
6. See BirdLife International (2007a. b).
7. "Recently recategorised species" (http://www.birdlife.org/action/science/species/global_spe
cies_programme/whats_new.html). Birdlife International (2012). Retrieved 15 June 2012.
 8. Bamford, et.al. Trade-offs between specificity and regional generality in habitat association
models: a case study of two species of African vulture. Journal of Applied Ecology, 46: 853-
859.
9. Naidoo V, Wolter K, Cuthbert R, Duncan N. 2009. Veterinary diclofenac threatens Africa's
endangered vulture species. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 53:205–208.
10. BAMFORD, A. J., MONADJEM, A., & HARDY, I. C. (2008, September 16). Nesting habitat
preference of the African White‐backed Vulture Gyps africanus and the effects of
anthropogenic disturbance. Retrieved February 23, 2018, from
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1474-919X.2008.00878.x/full
11. "Over 500 Rare Vultures Die After Eating Poisoned Elephants In Botswana" (https://www.ndt
v.com/world-news/over-500-rare-vultures-die-after-eating-poisoned-elephants-in-botswana-
2056740). Agence France-Press. NDTV. 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
12. Hurworth, Ella (2019-06-24). "More than 500 endangered vultures die after eating poisoned
elephant carcasses" (https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/21/africa/botswana-vultures-endanger
ed-elephants-intl-hnk/index.html). CNN. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
13. Solly, Meilan (2019-06-24). "Poachers' Poison Kills 530 Endangered Vultures in Botswana"
(https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/poachers-poison-kills-530-endangered-vultur
es-botswana-180972477/). Smithsonian. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
14. Ngounou, Boris (2019-06-27). "BOTSWANA: Over 500 vultures found dead after massive
poisoning" (https://www.afrik21.africa/en/botswana-over-500-vultures-found-dead-after-mass
ive-poisoning/). Afrik21. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
15. Mundy, P; Butchart, D; Ledger, J; Piper, S (1992). The Vultures of Africa. Randburg, South
Africa: Acorn Books.
16. Gill, Rhiannon. "White-Backed Vulture (Gyps africanus)" (https://wildlifeact.com/about-wildlif
e-act/wildlife-species/vultures/white-backed-vulture-gyps-africanus/). wildlifeact.com.
Wildlife Act. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
17. Jackson, Andrew L; Ruxton, Graeme D; Houston, David C (2008). "The effect of social
facilitation on foraging success in vultures: a modelling study" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pmc/articles/PMC2610049). Biology Letters. 4 (3): 311–313. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2008.0038 (htt
ps://doi.org/10.1098%2Frsbl.2008.0038). ISSN 1744-9561 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/17
44-9561). PMC 2610049 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2610049).
PMID 18364309 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18364309).
18. Kendall, C; Virani, M; Kirui, P; Thomsett, S; Githiru, M (2012). "Mechanisms of Coexistence
in Vultures: Understanding the Patterns of Vulture Abundance at Carcasses in Masai Mara
National Reserve, Kenya" (https://academic.oup.com/condor/article/114/3/523-531/515276
2). The Condor. 114 (3): 523–531. doi:10.1525/cond.2012.100196 (https://doi.org/10.1525%
2Fcond.2012.100196). ISSN 1938-5129 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1938-5129).
S2CID 55624422 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:55624422).
19. Virani, M (2010). "Nesting status of African White-backed Vultures Gyps Africanus in the
Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya" (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23666794
7). Ostrich. 81 (3): 205–209. doi:10.2989/00306525.2010.519894 (https://doi.org/10.2989%2
F00306525.2010.519894). S2CID 86549912 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:865
49912).
20. Leepile, Leungo B. L.; Maude, Glyn; Hancock, Pete; Reading, Richard P.; Bridges, Brian;
Hartley, Robyn; Amar, Arjun (2020). "Changes in nesting numbers and breeding success of
African White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus in north-central Botswana" (https://www.cambri
dge.org/core/product/identifier/S0959270920000179/type/journal_article). Bird Conservation
International. 30 (3): 456–473. doi:10.1017/S0959270920000179 (https://doi.org/10.1017%2
FS0959270920000179). ISSN 0959-2709 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0959-2709).
S2CID 219001377 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:219001377).
21. Bamford, Andrew J.; Monadjem, Ara; Hardy, Ian C. W. (2009). "Nesting habitat preference of
African White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus and the effect of anthropogenic disturbance".
Ibis (151): 51–62. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.2008.00878.x (https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1474-
919X.2008.00878.x).
22. Kemp, A. C.; Kemp, M. I. (1975). "Observations on the White backed Vulture Gyps africanus
in the Kruger National Park, with notes on other avian scavengers" (https://koedoe.co.za/ind
ex.php/koedoe/article/download/914/1048). Koedoe (18): 51–68.
23. Hoogstraal, Harry; Kaiser, Makram N. (1970-01-15). "The Subgenus Persicargas (Ixodoidea,
Argasidae, Argas). 8. A. (P.) theilerae, New Species, a Parasite of the White-Backed Vulture
in South Africa" (https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/63.1.205). Annals of the Entomological Society
of America. 63 (1): 205–210. doi:10.1093/aesa/63.1.205 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Faesa%2
F63.1.205). ISSN 1938-2901 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1938-2901).

References
Bamford, et al. Trade-offs between specificity and regional generality in habitat association
models: a case study of two species of African vulture. Journal of Applied Ecology, 46: 853–
859.
BirdLife International (2007a): 2006-2007 Red List status changes (http://www.birdlife.org/act
ion/science/species/global_species_programme/whats_new.html). Retrieved 2007-AUG-26.
BirdLife International (2007b): White-backed Vulture - BirdLife Species Factsheet (http://ww
w.birdlife.org/datazone/search/species_search.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=3373
&m=0). Retrieved 2007-AUG-26.
Gill, F & D Donsker (Eds). 2013. IOC World Bird Names (v 3.3) www.worldbirdnames.org (htt
p://www.worldbirdnames.org/n-raptors.html) Taxonomy of raptors
Chomba, Chansa (2013) Nesting patterns of raptor; White backed vulture (Gyps africanus)
and African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer), in Lochinvar National Park on the kafue flats,
Zambia. Open Journal of Ecology, 3.5, 35-330.
Mebrat, Tekemariam, Ashok, Verma. Communal Roosts of African White backed Gyps
africanus and Hooded Vultures Necrosyrtes monachus in Wondo Genet College of Forestry
and Natural Resources, Southern Ethiopia. Vulture News, 64, 5-20.
Monadjem, A., Botha, A. and Murn, C. (2013), Survival of the African white-backed vulture
Gyps africanus in north-eastern South Africa. African Journal of Ecology, 51: 87–93. doi:
10.1111/aje.12009
Munir Virani, Paul Kirui, Ara Monadjem, Simon Thomsett & Mwangi Githiru (2010) Nesting
status of African White-backed Vultures Gyps africanus in the Masai Mara National Reserve,
Kenya, Ostrich, 81:3, 205–209, DOI: 10.2989/00306525.2010.519894
Corinne Kendall, Munir Z. Virani, Paul Kirui, Simon Thomsett and Mwangi Githiru. (2012)
Mechanisms of Coexistence in Vultures: Understanding the Patterns of Vulture Abundance
at Carcasses in Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. The Condor 114:3, 523–531. Online
publication date: 1-Aug-201214-Sep-2012
Naidoo V., Wolter K., Cuthbert R., Duncan N. 2009. Veterinary diclofenac threatens Africa's
endangered vulture species. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 53:205–208.
Aas, E., Beyeri, J., Goksoyr, A. (2000) Fixed wavelength fluorescence (FF) of bile as a
monitoring tool for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure in fish: an evaluation of
compound specificity, inner filter effect and signal interpretation. Biomarkers 5:9–23
Agarwal, T., Khillare, P. S., Shridhar, V., Ray, S. (2009) Pattern, sources and toxic potential of
PAHs in the agricultural soils of Delhi, India. J Hazard Mater 163:1033–1039
 Albers P. H. (2006) Birds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Avian Poult Biol Rev
17(4):125–140

External links
African white-backed vulture videos (http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/african-white-backed-vul
ture-gyps-africanus) on the Internet Bird Collection
White-backed vulture - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds (http://sabap2.ad
u.org.za/docs/sabap1/123.pdf).
Gyps Africanus on Iziko - Museums of Cape Town (http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/birds/
accipitridae/gyps_africanus.htm).

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