Birds of prey keep Mother Nature healthy

WHILE birds of prey (raptors) are very useful in keeping the environment healthy, they are facing a very serious risk of poisons used by farmers.

Throughout the world, vultures are useful to people for purposes ranging from clairvoyance in Africa and the disposal of human corpses by the Parsees in India, writes Ann Scott in the April newsletter of the Vulture Working Group in Namibia. The group works under the umbrella body Raptors Namibia, funded by the Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF), aimed at protecting birds of prey.Scott said scavenging raptors, including vultures, Tawny Eagles and Bateleur Eagles, clean the carcasses of dead livestock, thus alerting farmers to livestock deaths.”This rapid disposal of carcasses assists in combating the spread of diseases such as anthrax and helps maintain farm hygiene.Because they can find and consume carcasses very quickly, vultures also control blowfly infestations on rotting carcasses,” Scott writes.Therefore, the presence of birds of prey indicates that the environment is healthy, with a wide and balanced diversity of animals and plant species, enough ground cover and no poisons, just like a resident pair of fish eagles demonstrates the health of a river or wetland.Furthermore, Scott continues, large and powerful birds of prey such as eagles control small mammals such as dassies, hares and rodents that compete with livestock for grazing resources.”Verreaux’s Eagles feed mainly on dassies and one pair will catch at least one dassie per day, amounting to 350 to 400 per year, which equals grazing for 22 sheep.Martial Eagles feed on Helmeted Guinea fowl, hares and ground squirrels, mongooses and suricates that have occasionally been implicated in the spread of rabies,” writes the conservationist.Owls are extremely efficient nocturnal predators with well-adapted eyesight and hearing and mostly hunt rats, mice and insects and control these pests in towns and on farms.One pair of Barn Owls with six chicks is able to catch 30 rodents a night.Liz Komen of the Namibia Animal Rehabilitation, Research and Education Centre (Narrec) says poisons and habitat loss through the felling of trees are the major threats to the survival of birds of prey.Some birds are electrocuted by power lines while others fall victim to wild cats.Raptors are characterised by dramatically curved beaks and claws, powerful wings and superb eyesight – adaptations that contribute to their specialised ecological role as meat eaters at the top of the food pyramid.Because of these attributes, they are also held in awe as one of the most charismatic groups of birds.They are, traditionally, a symbol of strength, courage and freedom and appear on many flags, coats of arms and emblems.WHY CONSERVE RAPTORS? * They maintain a healthy environment and their absence could ultimately contribute to serious environmental problems.* Responsible, sustainable bird-based tourism provides much-needed income to people, especially in rural areas, as well as incentives for the conservation of raptors and the environment as a whole.The group works under the umbrella body Raptors Namibia, funded by the Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF), aimed at protecting birds of prey.Scott said scavenging raptors, including vultures, Tawny Eagles and Bateleur Eagles, clean the carcasses of dead livestock, thus alerting farmers to livestock deaths.”This rapid disposal of carcasses assists in combating the spread of diseases such as anthrax and helps maintain farm hygiene.Because they can find and consume carcasses very quickly, vultures also control blowfly infestations on rotting carcasses,” Scott writes.Therefore, the presence of birds of prey indicates that the environment is healthy, with a wide and balanced diversity of animals and plant species, enough ground cover and no poisons, just like a resident pair of fish eagles demonstrates the health of a river or wetland.Furthermore, Scott continues, large and powerful birds of prey such as eagles control small mammals such as dassies, hares and rodents that compete with livestock for grazing resources.”Verreaux’s Eagles feed mainly on dassies and one pair will catch at least one dassie per day, amounting to 350 to 400 per year, which equals grazing for 22 sheep.Martial Eagles feed on Helmeted Guinea fowl, hares and ground squirrels, mongooses and suricates that have occasionally been implicated in the spread of rabies,” writes the conservationist.Owls are extremely efficient nocturnal predators with well-adapted eyesight and hearing and mostly hunt rats, mice and insects and control these pests in towns and on farms.One pair of Barn Owls with six chicks is able to catch 30 rodents a night.Liz Komen of the Namibia Animal Rehabilitation, Research and Education Centre (Narrec) says poisons and habitat loss through the felling of trees are the major threats to the survival of birds of prey.Some birds are electrocuted by power lines while others fall victim to wild cats.Raptors are characterised by dramatically curved beaks and claws, powerful wings and superb eyesight – adaptations that contribute to their specialised ecological role as meat eaters at the top of the food pyramid.Because of these attributes, they are also held in awe as one of the most charismatic groups of birds.They are, traditionally, a symbol of strength, courage and freedom and appear on many flags, coats of arms and emblems.WHY CONSERVE RAPTORS? * They maintain a healthy environment and their absence could ultimately contribute to serious environmental problems.* Responsible, sustainable bird-based tourism provides much-needed income to people, especially in rural areas, as well as incentives for the conservation of raptors and the environment as a whole.