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A cluster of mass vulture poisonings in May and June 2025 has drawn attention to an ongoing problem in the transfrontier conservation area that straddles South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The field response to the poisonings involved teams of veterinarians, rapid response teams, and stepped-up monitoring of the area, saving the lives of more than 80 vultures. The series of incidents triggered meetings involving South Africa National Parks, conservation NGOs and other authorities to assess where systems were lacking and could be improved.

More than 400 vultures died in a spate of poisoning events in and near South Africa's Kruger National Park in May and June this year. André Botha, co-chair of the Vulture Specialist Group at the IUCN, says more than 2,000 vultures have been poisoned in the wider Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA) since 2015, and other raptors and predators have also died. Observers have noted an increase in hunting and snaring of species such as impala for the bushmeat trade, with poachers frequently leaving poison-laced carcasses behind to deliberately kill carnivores or…

The Cape vulture, Southern Africa's only endemic vulture species, has shown positive signs of recovery in some parts of its range, with the overall population stabilizing. In 2021, the species' conservations status improved from endangered to vulnerable, making the Cape vulture a rare success story for vulture conservation in Africa, say conservationists.

The assertion that mining and conservation can coexist in fragile ecosystems is disingenuous. Our operations depend on black rhinos, a species critically sensitive to noise and human disturbance. Evidence shows mining activities – including heavy machinery and blasting – force rhinos to abandon their habitats, destroying the tourism models reliant on them. The Huab Conservancy serves as a cautionary tale: mining in the area led to the loss of tourism operations, community income, and conservation efforts – all without any meaningful benefit to the local population.

In July this year, conservationists from North Carolina Zoo in the U.S. and the Grumeti Fund in Tanzania went searching for a white-backed vulture in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park that had been tagged a few weeks earlier. Tracking data suggested the bird had died. The team traveled off-road to the southwestern edge of the park, accompanied by rangers from the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA). Upon arriving at the bird's location, they came across a gruesome scene: 108 vultures had been sorted into rows, missing their heads and feet.

There are around 26 000 rhinos left in the world. 68% of those live in South Africa. By far the majority of them are Southern White Rhinos, which are particularly vulnerable to poaching, because most of them are found in the open Savannah of national parks, making them easy targets. There are four other remaining species of rhino. The Black Rhino, of which there are around 6000, is found in southern and east Africa. The other African species, the Northern White Rhino, is effectively extinct, as the two remaining are both female.