CLIMATE · VERIFIED DEVELOPMENT
West Africa's Vulture Population in Crisis Amid Persecution and Habitat Loss
WHY IT MATTERS
The decline of vulture populations in West Africa threatens the ecosystem and highlights the need for urgent conservation efforts to protect these species and their habitats.
What happened
Togo's vulture population is in crisis due to intense persecution and habitat loss. Surveys between 2021 and 2025 tracked a sharp decline in critically endangered hooded vultures around abattoirs, with only a few hundred remaining in the country.
Palm-nut vultures are known from only one protected area, and white-backed vultures are presumed to be locally extinct. In neighboring Benin, market surveys found 535 vultures for sale in 24 markets between 2025 and 2026, indicating significant pressure on the species.
The falling numbers are not due to a drop in demand, but rather the dwindling numbers of the birds left in the wild.
PRIMARY SOURCES
West Africa’s plan to save its vultures struggles to take flight
Mongabay · Terna Gyuse · Discovery and factual synthesis only; publisher copyright terms apply