I finally got round to watching the Vultures: Beauty in the Beast edition of Natural World on iplayer. I don't normally watch nature programs, but the unusual subject matter intrigued me. Although the program did not persuade me that vultures were beautiful creatures, it did make me realize how necessary they are for our ecosystem.
Vultures are responsible for digesting bacteria from corpses and removing flesh that would otherwise be occupied by maggots. Without vultures, there would inevitably be an increase in the numbers of wild dogs and jackals, which would be likely to carry rabies into human populated areas. Still, a large number of vultures have been wiped out due to deliberate poisoning by poachers.
It is probably only a matter of time before these birds are killed off. One of the more recent examples being the extinction of the west African Black Rhinoceros, all because some idiots want their horns. We may be living in the 21st century, but some members the human race can still be incredibly stupid.
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