https://www.ajol.info/index.php/vulnew/issue/feed Vulture News 2023-05-09T13:18:34+00:00 Louis Phipps iucnvulturenews@gmail.com Open Journal Systems <p lang="en-US" align="JUSTIFY"><span lang="en-GB"><em>Vulture News</em></span><span lang="en-GB"> publishes original articles, reports, literature reviews and other material relevant to the field of vulture and condor biology, research and conservation from across the world. The journal has three sections for contributors: </span></p> <ul> <li class="show"> <p lang="en-US" align="JUSTIFY"><span lang="en-GB">The </span><span lang="en-GB"><em><u><strong>Articles</strong></u></em></span><span lang="en-GB"> section accepts manuscripts that will be sent for peer review. </span></p> </li> <li class="show"> <p lang="en-US" align="JUSTIFY"><span lang="en-GB">The</span><span lang="en-GB"><em><u><strong> Short Communications, Notes and Reports</strong></u></em></span><span lang="en-GB"> section accepts contributions that may be peer reviewed and describe new information, observations, opinion pieces, field reports or methods. </span></p> </li> <li class="show"> <p lang="en-US" align="JUSTIFY"><span lang="en-GB">The </span><span lang="en-GB"><em><u><strong>News and Comments</strong></u></em></span><span lang="en-GB"> section contains literature reviews, announcements and news that are edited for journal conventions. Single (or a series of) pictures with extended captions are encouraged.</span></p> </li> </ul> <p>As of 2015, this journal is now Open Access.</p> https://www.ajol.info/index.php/vulnew/article/view/247291 Vulture updates No 17 – October 2022 - Around the World of Vultures & VSG activities 2023-05-09T08:08:20+00:00 Chris Bowden chris.bowden@rspb.org.uk Andre Botha chris.bowden@rspb.org.uk <p>No abstract.</p> 2023-05-09T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 0 https://www.ajol.info/index.php/vulnew/article/view/247303 Cover image and Table of content 2023-05-09T13:18:34+00:00 Editor iucnvulturenews@gmail.com <p>This file has the cover image and issue information.&nbsp;</p> 2023-05-09T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 0 https://www.ajol.info/index.php/vulnew/article/view/247288 Breeding parameters and phenology of the Egyptian Vulture (<i>Neophron percnopterus Linnaeus</i>, 1758) in Bulgaria 2023-05-09T08:05:11+00:00 E.S. Yordanov gorataem@gmail.com <p>No abstract.</p> 2023-05-09T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 0 https://www.ajol.info/index.php/vulnew/article/view/247274 More resourceful scavenging by opportunistic Hooded Vultures <i>Necrosyrtes monachus</i> in coastal Gambia with photographic proof of tongue use when foraging for live food and blood. 2023-05-09T07:45:17+00:00 Clive R. Barlow birdsofthegambia@hotmail.com Russell Cryer birdsofthegambia@hotmail.com Francis Mendy birdsofthegambia@hotmail.com Geoff E. Dobbs birdsofthegambia@hotmail.com <p>We report on a combination of new and infrequently documented feeding behaviours for the Critically Endangered and opportunistic Hooded Vulture <em>Necrosyrtes monachus. </em>Observations were recorded in the Western Region of coastal Gambia from 2015 to 2020, where Hooded Vultures are living in high densities. We provide photographs and video footage to demonstrate the use of the grooved tongue for consuming live food items and when drinking blood. Attraction of large groups of Hooded Vultures to freshwater is also described.</p> 2023-05-09T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 0 https://www.ajol.info/index.php/vulnew/article/view/247276 Culture and the illegal trade in vultures in southwestern Nigeria: conundrums and recommendations. 2023-05-09T07:52:05+00:00 Stephen M. Awoyemi sawoyemi@gmail.com Laura Thomas-Walters sawoyemi@gmail.com Brandon P. Anthony sawoyemi@gmail.com Dhaval Vyas sawoyemi@gmail.com Ralph Buij sawoyemi@gmail.com Tajudeen O. Amusa sawoyemi@gmail.com <p>The illegal wildlife trade problem is worldwide in scope, affecting biodiversity conservation and human wellbeing. However, the trade has cultural dimensions. In addition to economic gain, cultural influences drive the illegal wildlife trade. This paper examines the cultural drivers of illegal trade in vultures in southwestern Nigeria, a pressing but understudied example which is believed to be a major driver of population declines in West Africa. Semi-structured interviews revealed that Yoruba communities in southwestern Nigeria have practiced belief-based use of wildlife for generations, with participation in vulture trade passed vertically within families and horizontally between unrelated persons. Vulture products are used for a range of purposes, from healing to spiritual protection or good fortune. The cultural beliefs underlying use of vultures have a strong syncretic religious component and evolved from primordial myths based on the behavioural and morphological characteristics of vultures. We propose potential interventions that include re-establishing existing social norms that forbid the killing of vultures and engaging religious leaders to discourage trade.</p> 2023-05-09T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 0 https://www.ajol.info/index.php/vulnew/article/view/247279 Chewing lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) found on Griffon Vultures (<i>Gyps fulvus</i>) from a wild breeding colony in central Spain. 2023-05-09T07:54:17+00:00 Carlos Talabante carlos_talabante_ramirez@yahoo.es Iván Bernal carlos_talabante_ramirez@yahoo.es <p>The Griffon Vulture (<em>Gyps fulvus</em>) is a social species which breeds in colonies and feeds in groups. This can facilitate horizontal transmission of ectoparasites between conspecifics. In 2015, in the province of Guadalajara, Spain, 28 vultures from a wild population were examined for ectoparasites, 24 of which were parasitized by chewing lice (Phthiraptera). Three species of lice were identified: <em>Laemobothrion (Laemobothrion) vulturis</em>, <em>Colpocephalum turbinatum </em>and <em>Falcolipeurus quadripustulatus</em>. Data on the prevalence and richness of louse species in the vulture population are also presented.</p> 2023-05-09T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 0 https://www.ajol.info/index.php/vulnew/article/view/247280 First confirmed record of Egyptian Vulture (<i>Neophron percnopterus</i>) in Malawi. 2023-05-09T07:56:22+00:00 Olivia Sievert olivia.sievert@gmail.com David Robertson olivia.sievert@gmail.com Andre Botha olivia.sievert@gmail.com <p>No abstract.</p> 2023-05-09T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 0 https://www.ajol.info/index.php/vulnew/article/view/247283 Coprophagy of Lion <i>Panthera leo</i> faeces by Hooded Vultures <i>Necrosyrtes monachus</i>: a case study in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. 2023-05-09T07:58:15+00:00 Neil Stronach neil.stronach@gmail.com <p>No abstract.</p> 2023-05-09T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 0 https://www.ajol.info/index.php/vulnew/article/view/247285 First data about movements and threats of Rüppell's Vultures (<i>Gyps rueppellii</i>) tagged in Morocco: an international and multi-institutional study. 2023-05-09T08:03:07+00:00 Jose Rafael Garrido jrafael.garrido@juntadeandalucia.es Rachid El Khamlichi jrafael.garrido@juntadeandalucia.es Zouhair Amhaouch jrafael.garrido@juntadeandalucia.es Justo Martín jrafael.garrido@juntadeandalucia.es Juan Jose Iglesias-Lebrija jrafael.garrido@juntadeandalucia.es Ernesto Álvarez jrafael.garrido@juntadeandalucia.es Virginia Moraleda jrafael.garrido@juntadeandalucia.es Miguel Ferrer jrafael.garrido@juntadeandalucia.es Carlos Florencio jrafael.garrido@juntadeandalucia.es Iñigo Fajardo jrafael.garrido@juntadeandalucia.es Jose Ramón Benitez jrafael.garrido@juntadeandalucia.es Jesús Bautista jrafael.garrido@juntadeandalucia.es Helena Clavero jrafael.garrido@juntadeandalucia.es Catherine Numa jrafael.garrido@juntadeandalucia.es <p>The Rüppell's Vulture (<em>Gyps rueppelli</em>) is listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ at the global and regional levels in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. A multi-institutional collaboration to fit 13 vultures with GPS transmitters in northern Morocco was launched to get information on their movements and threats along the flyway, both to the north and the south of the Sahara. Preliminary results from individuals released in November 2021 indicate a low survival rate during the wintering period in Morocco and on the return journey to the Sahel, which is usually attempted by Rüppell's Vultures with large groups of migratory birds, especially Griffon Vultures (<em>Gyps fulvus</em>). Of the group of tagged individuals, only four birds travelled definitely in a southwards direction, apparently migrating. Two of those have died, with one presumed to have starved in the Algerian desert, and another one presumed to have been killed by human persecution in The Gambia. A third individual was captured by local people in Mauritania and it is unknown what happened thereafter. One bird remains alive in Senegal at the time of writing. For the birds that did not disperse far after being fitted with transmitters, a relatively high number of fatalities seems to confirm that threats to the species are prevalent in Morocco: one bird died after being struck by a wind turbine; one was electrocuted by a power line; and two suffered from starvation and weakness. Birds remaining close to the release area fed mainly at a vulture feeding station or at rubbish dumps, which may indicate that there is a lack of food available in the wider surroundings. Five vultures originally fitted with transmitters are still alive in North Africa at the time of writing.</p> 2023-05-09T00:00:00+00:00 Copyright (c) 0