African Raptors : Population Declines
A new study has revealed that 37 out of 42 African raptor species analyzed have experienced significant population declines of around 88% in the past 40 years.
- Out of these, 29 species constituting 69% have seen drops over 3 generation lengths that qualify them as globally threatened under IUCN criteria of endangerment.
- The analysis found 6 raptor species endemic or near-endemic to Africa already overshot the minimum threshold of loss of habitat and numbers that signals heightened extinction risk.
- There is pressing need to reassess the status of over 10 declining yet currently least-concern species which might be more endangered than categorized.
- Habitat destruction, loss of nesting sites and prey base along with poisoning and hunting have accelerator declines, especially in West Africa’s high poverty, corruption and misgovernance contexts.
