Is Lotto the last nail in the Vultures Coffin?

Lotto vultures resort to bird-brained scheme


The traditional medicinal practice of smoking dried vulture brains to induce a vision of winning lotto numbers is killing off the bird's population in South Africa, researchers say.




Scelo, a young healer in downturn Johannesburg's market for muti, or traditional medicine, says the birds are becoming more scarce.



"I only have one every three or four months," he said.



"Everybody asks for the brain. You see things that people can't see. For lotto, you dream the numbers."



Rolled into a cigarette or inhaled as vapours, vulture brains can also help at the horse races, boost an exam performance, or lure more clients to a business, according to believers.



Next to snake skins and ostrich feet, as well as donkey fat to chase away bad spirits, Scelo sells a small bottle with just a speck of ground brains for about 50 rand ($7.50).



The entire bird could go for 2,000 rand ($299).



Another traditional healer, speaking on condition of anonymity, says vulture bones or feathers can also be mixed with herbs to make medicines.



"We make the brain dry and mix it with mud and you smoke it like a cigarette or a stick. Then the vision comes," he said.



He prescribes mainly vulture heads, which he says bring visions of the future, endowing users with the bird's excellent vision that helps them fly out of nowhere to descend on carcasses.



According to experts, it is a belief shared along Africa's east coast, as well as in some west African countries.



A young Zulu named Mthembeni wanted to buy a blend of ground brains and beaks for his dogs, but he turned away, dismayed at the price.



"I put it on their nose. Then they can

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International Vulture Awareness Day - Lahore Zoo

Letter from Lahore:

As everyone knows that 5th September, 2009 was International Vulture Awareness Day.

Participants with posters


Lahore Zoo Education Department also celebrated International Vulture Awareness Day because Vultures are an ecologically vital group of birds that faces a wide range of threats in many areas where they are naturally occurring. Pakistan is one the country facing alarming decline in vulture population. There were nine types of vultures native to South Asia, adding that eight of these were found in Pakistan. The major decline in the populations of two vultures’ species in Pakistan – the White-backed Vulture and the Long-billed Vulture is very noticeable. The population of these two species has declined by 95% and both are now listed as “critically endangered”, meaning there is no way to prevent the extinction of the species unless serious conservation efforts are undertaken.

Zoo Director With Participants


The decline in the vulture population has been blamed on the extensive use of the Diclofenac Sodium a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) which is commonly used in livestock in the Indian-subcontinent for the treatment of lameness, fever etc. It is cheap and widely available. Diclofenac Sodium accumulates in the kidneys of vultures when they feed on carcasses and eventually leads to their death. Diclofenac has been banned in veterinary practice.

Lahore Zoo is one of the oldest Zoos of the world and its major aim is educating visitors on environmental and conservation issues. The Lahore Zoo has many educational, animal welfare activities which are meant to entertain and provide ample opportunities to integrate conservation. In this era of depletion and destruction of natural habitat for wildlife it is duty of zoos to spread the message of animal welfare among masses especially young ones for that purpose.
Zoo education Officer Delevering lecture



Lahore Zoological Gardens also celebrated International Vulture Awareness Day on 5th September, 2009. A small group of public (adult & child) from different walks of life was gathered at jungle café near Indian Python Enclosure. Syed Zafar-ul-Hasan, Director Lahore Zoo delivered the welcome lecture on importance of vulture and added that Lahore Zoo management planned to house the vulture for their captive breeding after completion Lahore Zoo Master Plan in bird aviary visitors and young students the conservationist of tomorrow will have the chance to see this bird and will make positive efforts to save it.

Mrs. Bushra Nisar Khan Education Officer, Lahore Zoo shed light on ecological role of vultures and showed the pictures of vultures suffering in Pakistan. Mr. Anwar Man Deputy Director, Lahore Zoo added that these birds are biological indicator and help to clean the environment. In end the Zoo Education Officer distributed the vulture posters among the public provided by WWF-Pakistan. The audience gained lost of information assure they are with Lahore Zoo for conservation of this important bird.

Zoo education officer with audiance holding vulture posters