Today is International Vulture Awareness Day, a day to celebrate and raise awareness about one of the most misunderstood and vital birds on our planet. Despite the common view of vultures as aggressive scavengers, they are loyal and loving, remaining with their partner for life and being devoted parents. Africa's vulture populations are rapidly declining due to many threats, among them, intentional and unintentional poisonings. The familiar sight of vultures circling high above dead animals, provides a natural "alarm system" alerting authorities to illegal poaching activity. In an attempt to avoid this, poachers are known to deliberately poison carcasses, in turn killing vultures. Vultures can enjoy very social feeding patterns so a single poisoned carcass can kill hundreds of birds. Vultures also face the threat of unintentional poisoning, often from veterinary drugs given to cattle, or various environmental toxins. Our partner VulPro are at the forefront of saving these incredible birds. Their work includes rescuing and rehabilitating injured vultures, running vital captive breeding programs, and fighting for the future of these important members of the African ecosystem. VulPro's efforts show us that every single bird matters. By protecting vultures, they are also helping to ensure the balance and well-being of the entire African landscape. (fb)

🌍Tusk Ambassador Bear Grylls highlights the reason why he's championing the Wildlife Ranger Challenge and the incredible wildlife rangers supporting and promoting conservation across Africa.🦁🦒🐘🦏🥬 You can support the challenge by donating to the amazing teams taking part and also by getting involved yourself: wildliferangerchallenge.org/get-involved (fb)