Vulture Watch System Informs Zambian Park of Poisonings

Lion and leopard¹ populations in Zambia's Kafue National Park are showing signs of a comeback, following many years of poaching. A new early-warning system involving birds has been a part of the success.

A new report shared with the Reuters news agency² found that big cat numbers across Kafue remained similar -- and in some cases increased -- from 2018 to 2022. The populations were measured widely for the first time by Panthera. The organization works³ to save wild cats.

A lack of historical population data makes it difficult to examine population changes over a longer period of time. But since 2018, scientists have seen signs that the big cat populations are increasing, said Kim Young-Overton. She is director of Panthera's Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area program, which includes Kafue.

A half-century of poaching has greatly hurt wildlife populations in Africa's third-largest national park. Kafue's big cats are among the victims.

Leopards⁴ have long been hunted for their skin, which people use to make ceremonial clothing. Poachers have also targeted the grass-eating animals that lions eat, leaving too little food behind for the hungry cats. Area farmers have targeted the lions with weapons like guns, arrows, and even poison.

Conservation groups have worked alongside⁵ Africa Parks and Zambia's Department of National Parks and Wildlife to help protect Kafue's wildlife. The groups and organizations use many different tools in their efforts.

One of the newer methods is tagging, or marking, vultures with satellite trackers. The birds are drawn⁷ to dead animal carcasses, or bodies. And so are big cats. The quick arrival of the vultures lets wildlife managers know about possibly poisoned carcasses – before the lions and leopards can get to them.

In many parts of Africa, livestock⁸ owners will poison cow carcasses with a deadly agricultural chemical meant to kill the cats that eat them. The farmers see the poisoning as a form of punishment for lions that kill and eat their animals.

Scientists have tagged two kinds of vultures, including the endangered white-backed vulture. Their population has dropped by more than 90 percent across West Africa in the past 40 years, largely⁹ due to poisoning.

Corinne Kendall leads conservation and research efforts at North Carolina Zoo in the United States. The zoo leads the vulture-tagging program in Zambia. She said, "African white-backed vultures will come in really large numbers." A hundred or more of the birds may try to eat a poisoned carcass. All of them will die, Kendall added.

Since 2021, the zoo team has tagged 19 vultures in Zambia. The birds wear very small bags containing the satellite tags¹⁰ over their wings.

So far, the tagged vultures have led the wildlife teams to two suspected poisoning events near Kafue. In such cases, park workers were able to remove the carcass and try to find the people responsible for the poisoning. This helps save both the birds and the big cats.

"Poisoning is a silent killer," Kendall added. "Unless you have something like satellite-tagged vultures, a lot might be going on without anyone knowing about it."

Words in This Story

poach – v. to catch or kill an animal illegally

conservation – n. the protection of animals, plants, and natural resources

tag⁶ – n. a small piece of cloth, paper, metal, etc., that is attached to something and that has information written on it

track – v. to follow and try to find (an animal) by looking for its tracks and other signs that show where it has gone

manager – n. someone who is in charge of a business or department

livestock – n. farm animals (such as cows, horses, and pigs) that are kept, raised, and used by people

zoo – n. a place where many kinds of animals are kept so that people can see them

silent – adj. giving no information about something

1 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。

2 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

3 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

4 leopards   

n.豹( leopard的名词复数 )；本性难移

参考例句：

• Lions, tigers and leopards are all cats. 狮、虎和豹都是猫科动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• For example, airlines never ship leopards and canaries on the same flight. 例如，飞机上从来不会同时运送豹和金丝雀。 来自英语晨读30分（初三）

5 alongside   

adv.在旁边；prep.和...在一起，在...旁边

参考例句：

• There was a butcher's shop alongside the theatre.剧院旁边有一家肉店。
• Alongside of him stood his uncle.他的身旁站着他叔叔。

6 tag   

n.标签，附属物，名称，谚语；vt.附以签条，尾随，添饰，指责，连接；vi.紧随，尾随

参考例句：

• Please tag your baggage.请在你的行李上贴上标签了。
• The clerk attached a price tag to each article.店员给每一件商品系上标价签。

7 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

8 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

9 largely   

adv.大部分，主要地

参考例句：

• It is largely dependent on the weather.这多半取决于天气情况。
• Their conclusions were largely founded on guesswork.他们的结论大部份基于猜测。

10 tags   

n.[计算机]标记( tag的名词复数 )；附加语（为加强语气，如 Yes, I do 一句中的 I do）；名言；污块毛

参考例句：

• He put name tags on all his shirts. 他给自己所有的衬衣都缝上了标有姓名的签条。
• The old scholar's writing is always full of tags. 那位老学者的文章里总是有很多名言警句。 来自《简明英汉词典》