Belief-based killings are the second largest cause of vulture deaths, accounting for approximately 29% of vulture deaths on the continent.
Sitting on a sunny morning, Zemu Ngwesele chats with a colleague. Ngwesele is part of a group of 20 traditional healers working in Meatu District, part of the Makao Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Northern Tanzania. Today, Ngwesele and his colleagues are waiting to enter the local town hall, where Nature Tanzania (BirdLife Partner) will make a presentation about vultures. Once inside the hall, and after a round of introductions, Ngwesele and his colleagues listen intently as Emmanuel Mgimwa, Executive Director of Nature Tanzania highlights the declines of the vulture in the country.
Over the past fifty years, Africa has witnessed a drastic decline in vulture species caused by many factors particularly poisoning, belief-based use, electrocution and collisions with energy infrastructure, habitat destruction, and others. Poisoning, which accounts for more than 60% of vulture deaths, is driven by many factors, including illegal trade, human-wildlife conflict, traditional use, and indiscriminate pesticide use. Belief-based killings, where vulture parts are used to make traditional medicine to cure ailments or bring good luck. It is the second largest cause of vulture mortality, accounting for approximately 29% of vulture deaths on the continent.
Ruppell’s Griffon Vultures, Tanzania, copyright Nik Borrow, from surfbirds galleries
In Tanzania, the issue of superstition-based killing of vultures has been reported as one of the drivers of wildlife poisoning in the country. In some of the Protected Areas, there have been reports of incidents of wildlife poisoning and dead vultures being found at the scene. In 2019, following an elephant poisoning incident in the Selous Game Reserve in Southern Tanzania, 10 vultures were killed and in 2020, more than 50 vultures were killed in the Wami Mbiki Game Reserve in the eastern part of the country. Other incidents have been reported in Maswa Game reserve and Serengeti National Park.
Recognizing the urgency of this crisis, Nature Tanzania began implementing the project in Macau MWA in 2022. This project, funded by the Darwin Initiative through BirdLife International aims to establish partnerships with traditional healers to address the threat of belief killing vultures.
“The practice of poisoning, catching and selling vultures to traditional healers is a big problem in the country. Vulture parts particularly the heads, claws and feathers are much sought after by healers because they are used in traditional medicine,” said Mgimwa.
Since starting the project, there have been several meetings and workshops between Nature Tanzania and traditional healers, with 34 of the 150 registered traditional healers in Macau WMA now engaged in saving vultures from extinction. The main outcome from these discussions is the need to use plant-based alternatives, as replacements for vultures’ body parts. Traditional healers identified a plant (locally known as Viloto) – is said to have similar uses to vulture’s head in traditional medicine. Following these interactions, traditional healers increasingly use this plant in their trade.
“These meetings have been very important in raising awareness among the traditional healers in our District, on the need to increasingly use alternative plants in vulture parts”, said Ngwesele, who is also the Chairman of the traditional healers from the village of Mbushi, one of the 10 villages in Makao WMA.
Following these deliberations, Nature Tanzania made a follow-up on the named alternative plant for vulture parts, aiming to obtain the scientifically identified specimen, and review the status and distribution of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature ) of this in Tanzania.
In addition, Nature Tanzania contacted a supplier of the plant who indicated that the plant is readily available in three regions in the country including Katavi Region, Singida Region, and Kigoma Region. Consequently, the Nature Tanzania Species Conservation Officer and the supplier visited the Kigoma Region and collected specimens of Viloto which was taken to the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Science (MUHAS), Institute of Traditional Medicine, for further examination.
The alternative plant is identified as Biophytum crassipes by a botanist at MUHAS, and further follow-up on its distribution and IUCN status continues. “After struggling to find vultures in their habitats, we worked hard to identify an alternative for the vulture portion. We were able to identify Biophytum crassipes as an alternative, and the plant works like the parts of the vulture,” says Ngwesele.
“I also encourage my fellow traditional healers not to use vultures in traditional medicine and use alternative plants,” he added.
That was assured Biophytum crassipes is more readily available in the rainy season than in the summer. Traditional healers now use the plant for their trade and have decided to stop using vulture parts in the preparation of traditional medicines and beliefs, as they will focus on alternative plants. Further, Nature Tanzania is doing some testing to ascertain if the plant can be planted in Makao WMA so that the plant can be easily found by traditional healers. Nature Tanzania aims to scale up the project and reach out to traditional healers in other villages in Macau who use vulture parts for medicine.
“This is just the beginning as we fight to address belief-based killings, thereby saving Tanzania’s endangered vulture species. We invite everyone to join this effort so that the vital services of ecosystem offered by vultures,” concluded Mgimwa.
