RaptorTAG.com Photo: Andre Botha

VulTuRe SAFe ToolkiT 2018

Get Social

Talking about your SAFe or iVAD Activities?

if you celebrate iVAD this year, we’d love to know

about it!

Share photos on social media with the hashtags:

#SaveourScavengers#makeitSAFeforVultures

#AZAVultureSAFe

Program leaderCorinne kendall, North Carolina Zoo

Vice Program leaderGraeme Patterson, Denver Zoo

Public engagement Subcommittee leaderJacque Williamson, Brandywine Zoo

Additional Steering Committee MembersGen Anderson, St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park Tim Brown, Tracy Aviary Meredith Bruhn, NC Aquarium, Pine knolls Jenyva Turner, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Sprina lui, Dallas Zoo Michael Mace, San Diego Zoo Global Bryan Mac Aulay, Phoenix Zoo Mike Maxcy, los Angeles Zoo Taylor Rubin, Zoo Atlanta Tom Schneider, Detroit Zoo  Anne Tieber, St. louis Zoo

FCC liaisonTim Brown, Tracy Aviary

Raptor TAG advisorScott Tidmus, Disney’s Animal kingdom

Field Partners Raptors Botswana (RB)kalahari Research and Conservation (kRC)Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)The Peregrine FundRuaha Carnivore Project (RCP)Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS)VulPro

AdvisorsAndre Botha (iuCN Vulture Specialist Group)

Program PartnersBrandywine Zoo, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Dallas Zoo, Denver Zoo, los Angeles Zoo, North Carolina Zoo, San Diego Zoo Global, St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, St. louis Zoo, Tracy Aviary, Zoo Atlanta, Detroit Zoo, Phoenix Zoo, NC Aquarium-Pine knolls

Version 1.2

Program PartnersWelcome to the African Vulture SAFe Toolkit

inside this document, you’ll find resources and information about the African Vulture Crisis, ways you and your organization can support the AV SAFe program, social media messaging, fundraising opportunities, educational messaging, and more.

We hope you find this to be a valuable resource!

Questions, Comments, Thoughts? e-mail us at RaptorTAGroup@gmail.com

Contents 2 introduction3 AV SAFe Program4 Focus Programs5 Top Threats to Vultures7 Strategy overview10 Social Media Toolkit5 Supporting AV SAFe13 international Vulture Awareness Day introduction14 Vulture Facts

Photo: G. Harris, oregon Zoo

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What is African Vulture SAFE?SAFe—or Saving Animals From extinction—is an AZA initiative intended to coordinate and focus the conservation efforts of AZA institutions on specific taxa in order to increase

consevation impact. African vultures were officially selected as a SAFe species in March 2018.

Who is involved?Dr. Corinne kendall, the Curator of Conservation and Research at North Carolina Zoo, is heading up the African Vulture SAFe program. To date, we have 14 program partner zoos that are all actively contributing to the program.

What are the focus species?endangered: Cape Vulture (Gyps corprotheres)-Red level SSP; lappet-faced Vulture (Torgos tracheliotus)-Red level SSPCritically endangered: Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus)-Red level SSP; Ruppell’s Vulture (Gyps rueppelli)-Yellow level SSP; White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus)-Red level SSP; White-headed Vulture (Trigonoceps occipitalis)-No SSP

What are the threats to African vultures?Three of the most pressing threats to vultures are poisoning, collisions with man-made structures, and lack of food availability. each of our field partners are actively involved in combatting those threats directly and spreading awareness to those who share an ecosystem with African vultures.

Who are the field partners?The African Vulture SAFe Program has partnered with four field projects.

Kenya: The Peregrine FundTanzania: North Carolina Zoo & WCSBotswana: Denver Zoo, kalahari Research and Conservation, and Raptors BotswanaSouth Africa: VulPro

What are we doing to help vultures in-situ?The AZA African Vulture SAFe program is supporting the in-situ conservation work of several organizations in four African countries: Peregrine Fund in kenya; VulPro in South Africa; North Carolina Zoo and Wildlife Conservation Society in Tanzania; and Raptors Botswana and kalahari Research and Conservation in Botswana. Find more information on these four partner programs on page 4.

What are we doing to help vultures ex-situ?Part of African Vulture SAFe’s goals is to educate visitors of zoos, aquariums, nature centers, schools…or really anywhere, about how amazing African vultures are!

in the August 2018 Vol. 1, issue 3 of The Talon, the

Raptor TAG’s newsletter, you will find articles about conservation education happening around the world to raise awareness about African vultures.

Find the August issue under “Newsletter” on the TAG webpage.

Celebrating international Vulture Awareness Day (iVAD) is a powerful way that we can reach a large number of people with this message. You can find more resources for vulture education through the Raptor TAG’s IVAD Toolkit with these lessons and more on the Raptor TAG website’s iVAD page:

RaptorTAG.com/vultureday

Additionally, we’ve prepared this African Vulture SAFE Toolkit with lots of helpful activities, facts, social media ideas, fundraising ideas, and conservation messages that we hope you will use as part of your iVAD celebrations this September, as well as throughout the year. our goal is to make educating guests about vultures easy and to make sure that we are all speaking with one voice to enact positive change for African vultures. Stay tuned for more outreach and education initiatives!

For more information, visit RaptorTAG.com/SAFe

iNTRoDuCiNG AFRiCAN VulTuRe SAFe

Check out our African Vulture SAFe T-shirt campaign at Bonfire before August 20, 2018

to get your own shirt!Bonfire.com/africanvulturesafe

Available in multiple colors, cuts (womens, unisex, v-neck, long sleeve, & tanks).

Fundraiser Alert

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AFRiCAN VulTuRe SAFe PRoGRAMAction Plan overview

Cape VultureGyps corprotheres

Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus

lappet-faced VultureTorgos tracheliotus

Ruppell’s VultureGyps rueppelli

White-backed VultureGyps africanus

White-headed VultureTrigonoceps occipitalis

eN

eN

Ce

Ce

Ce

Ce

initial target areas for the SAFe program are Botswana, kenya, South

Africa, and Tanzania.

Priority countries for expanded efforts would include Angola, Mozambique,

Namibia, uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

25% by 2020 The goal of this action plan is to improve the population status of all six target species in at least 25% of their African distribution by 2020.

SAFe Species

Red

Red

Red

Red

Yellow

SSP Status

The species considered within this program are all a part of the Raptor TAG.

$420,000Between 2014-2016, 21 AZA member institutions supported African vulture conservation directly and members spent over $420,000 during this time. largely, these funds have supported:

Population Monitoring

Awareness Buildingin range countries

Ranger Training

to reduce poisoning

Satellite Telemetry

V7

V7

Photo: lappet-faced Vulture, Scott Tidmus

Africa’s vultures have declined by an average of 62% during the last 30 years. in parts of Western Africa, some species have declined more than 95%.

62% in 30 years

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FEEL LEARN ACT

AFRiCAN VulTuRe SAFe PRoGRAM

Denver Zoo, kalahari Research and Conservation, and Raptors Botswana are working to address key knowledge gaps, engage new communities, and train poison first-responders to save five endangered and critically endangered species in Botswana. This project aligns with five strategic objectives of the SAFe SMS Africa Vulture Plan and will help realize the larger goal of securing viable vulture populations in Botswana through sound science, honest community engagement, and capacity building.

Botswana Tanzania South AfricaNorth Carolina Zoo’s work to date, in partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society, has included population monitoring, ranger training in responding to poisoning events, awareness raising, and satellite tagging of several vulture species. Together these activities have provided crucial information about vulture ecology and behavior in the region, helped to reduce poisoning activities, and when poisoning does occur, has ensured rapid clean-up, evidence collection, vulture rehabilitation, and arrest of perpetrators.

Full descriptions of these four Focus Programs are available at RaptorTAG.com/SAFe

Researchers from the Peregrine Fund have focused on answering key research questions to guide conservation initiatives in kenya and east Africa, and more recently have begun monitoring breeding colonies to assess our conservation impact. Tagging and tracking vulture movements by this team has helped to identify key habitats and priority areas for conservation efforts, as well as to highlight their wide-ranging movements across east and Central Africa, which previously were unknown.

VulPro’s work in South Africa involves instrumental veterinary toxicological research, colony monitoring, and rehabilitation of injured vultures. Additionally, VulPro breeds nonreleasable Cape Vultures, African White-backed Vultures, lappet-faced Vultures, and White-headed Vultures as part of a conservation breeding and reintroduction program where all offspring are returned to the wild. Public education is also a large aspect of VulPro’s work, both to school groups and local communities as well as visiting researchers looking to gain invaluable field experience in areas such as capturing, tagging, monitoring and rescuing vultures.

AuDieNCe Zoo guests, potential partners and funders

BiG iDeA AZA SAFe Species programs seek to protect threatened and endangered species around the world.

GuiDiNG QueSiToN

Why are AZA institutions and their field partners committed to public engagement and conservation action for African vultures?

FoCuS PRoGRAMS

As a result of the program, our audience will develop or strengthen their…

A sense of importance of the threats facing AF Vultures.

Motivation to support AZA’s AV SAFe programs.

As a result of the program, our audience will know/comprehend…

African vulture populations are rapidly declining.

African Vultures play a critical role in keeping ecosystems clean and healthy (disease ecology).

Multiple AZA institutions/Field Partners are addressing the rapid decline of vulture populations through conservation strategies.

As a result of the program, our audience will …

Support AV SAFe partners and their conservation efforts (financially)

Attend and participate in a local iVAD event

learn about vulture species in their community.

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ToP THRee THReATS FACiNG AFRiCAN VulTuReS

#1 PoiSoNiNG THRouGH PoACHiNG

Primary Threats

Retaliatory killings for livestock losses.

Direct persecution for vulture body parts and trade.

Poachers working

to prevent rangers

from detecting

their illegal activities.

The primary threat, shared by all six

species covered in this plan, is poisoning.

Threats to vultures overlap heavily with SAFe programs other and conservation initiatives of several other species, particularly African elephants and lions, which are targeted for poaching and retaliation.

What is the problem?Poisoning is the most significant threat currently impacting African vulture species.

Vultures fall victim to targeted poisoning for belief-based uses in the fetish and muti-trade as well as when targeted as sentinels by poachers to prevent vultures from revealing the location of illegal kills to park rangers. up to 30% of annual vulture deaths are a result of direct poaching for bushmeat use in these traditional trades.

Vultures also lead rangers to poached elephants and rhinos and, as a result, poachers are poisoning poached carcasses to also target sentinel

vultures. Reducing poaching is therefore important for vulture conservation as well.

What are SAFe partners doing to help?SAFe partners in kenya, Tanzania and Botswana are providing poisoning response training to rangers, which reduces morality at each incident. This training also results in faster site clean up time to prevent secondary poisoning episodes and more effective evidence collection which leads to the arrest of perpetrators.

local communities are also educated about the dangers of wildlife poisoning and the importance of vultures to encourage community-based vulture conservation efforts.

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#3 ColliSioNS WiTH MAN-MADe STRuCTuReSWhat is the problem?Vulture mortality by electrocution on power poles and injuries resulting from collisions with power lines have become more prevalent in recent years as energy demand increases in Africa. Additionally, wind farms are increasing in popularity across Africa and vulture collisions and resulting mortality are an additional threat to vultures. Despite vultures’ acute vision, their field of view while foraging can make them unaware of power lines and wind turbines along their flight path. electrocution on power poles occurs when the bird is perching on poorly designed power lines and uninsulated poles, while collisions with wind turbines occur when vultures are soaring on wind

thermals that cross wind farms.

What are SAFe partners doing to help?SAFe partners in South Africa, kenya and Botswana are surveying high-risk power lines and notifying local infrastructure companies about areas of concern. Collaboration with these companies results in power line mitigation to reduce vulture mortalities and injuries. SAFe partners are also working with these companies to prevent construction of wind farms and power lines in high use vulture habitat, based on natural history and telemetry data being collected by field teams.

ToP THRee THReATS FACiNG AFRiCAN VulTuReS

(CoNTiNueD)

How can you help?The AZA African Vulture SAFe program supports the in-situ conservation work of the four programs highlighted in the Focus Programs section. You or your organization can donate funds to the African Vulture SAFe program, where you can even specify which of the four projects you are supporting.

Alternatively, you can directly support those programs in some way and report back to SAFe.

SouRCeS:

https://www.cms.int/raptors/en/publication/multi-species-action-plan-conserve-african-eurasian-vultures-vulture-msap-cms-ts-no-35

https://www.speakcdn.com/assets/2332/safevulture_actionplan2018-2020.pdf

http://projectvulture.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Vulture-restaurants.pdf

What is the problem?Poisoning incidents can be broken down into two different categories of poisoning: unintentional or secondary poisoning, where vultures are not the intended target; and targeted poisoning, where vultures are intentionally killed (see Threat #1).

unintentional poisoning occurs when vultures consume poison bates set out to target predators that threaten livestock or when vultures consume carcasses that have died from poison.

Retaliatory killings of carnivores in response to livestock predation often leads to poisoning with pesticide-laced carcasses. This is a major cause of mortality for large carnivores like lions as well as vultures and other scavengers. Reducing human-carnivore conflict is critical not just for lion conservation but for vultures as well.

What are SAFe partners doing to help?SAFe partners are using satellite

telemetry on vultures to not only study their ranges but this data has also allowed them to determine poisoning rates and hotspots, which affect both vultures and carnivores.

Partners in Tanzania, Botswana and kenya, like The Peregrine Fund’s Stop Poisoning Now campaign, are working with local communities to reduce carnivore conflicts and retaliation as well as raise awareness about the illicit use of poisons. These efforts focus on providing hands-on training about the dangers of using poisons, how this impacts vultures, and providing knowledge and resources for rapid poisoning-re s p o n s e teams.

#2 PoiSoNiNG BY FARMeRS

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STRATeGY oVeRVieW

#01 MoNiToRiNGContinue and expand population monitoring of target vulture species

1.1 Conduct roadside surveys to maintain up-to-date information on known populations

1.2 Conduct roadside surveys of new populations to assess current gap areas

1.3 Monitor and protect key breeding sites (cliff nests for Cape and Ruppell’s Vultures)

1.4 Aerial monitoring of breeding clusters of tree-nesting vultures

TimeframeConducted Annually or ongoing

AZA ZoosNorth Carolina Zoo, Denver Zoo, San Diego Zoo Global

Field PartnersWildlife Conservation Society (WCS), kalahari Research and Conservation (kRC), Raptors Botswana (RB), Peregrine Fund, FZS

WhereTanzania, Botswana, kenya, South Africa

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

#02 PoiSoNiNGReduce poisoning prevalence

2.1 Mitigate human-wildlife conflict

2.2 Train poisoning response teams

2.3 increase patrolling for poisoning

2.4 Track vulture mortality

TimeframeConducted Annually or ongoing

AZA ZoosNorth Carolina Zoo, Denver Zoo, San Diego Zoo Global

Field PartnersWCS, kRC, RB, Peregrine Fund, Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), Ruaha Carnivore Project (RCP)

WhereTanzania, Botswana, kenya

Photo: Testing for lead, C. kendall, North Carolina Zoo

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#03

BioDiVeRSiTYimprove knowledge of vulture biology

3.1 establish population range and lead exposure for significant populations

3.2 Study and quantify the role vultures have in disease control and waste removal

TimeframeTag 10 vultures/year, complete studies by end of year 3

AZA ZoosNorth Carolina Zoo, Denver Zoo, San Diego Zoo Global, St. Augustine Alligator Farm, St. louis Zoo, Smithsonian

Field PartnersWCS, kRC, RB, Peregrine Fund, FZS

WhereTanzania, Botswana, kenya, South Africa

#04 MoNiToR ColliSioNSMonitor and reduce threat of infrastructure collision and

electrocutions

4.1 Monitor number of vultures killed or injured due to collisions and electrocutions

4.2 Minimize threat of collision and electrocution

TimeframeAnnually

AZA ZoosCheyenne Mountain Zoo, Denver Zoo, San Diego Zoo GlobalField PartnersVulPro, kRC, RB, Peregrine Fund

WhereBotswana, kenya, South Africa

#05 ReHABiliTATioNenhance rehabilitation, breeding, and release of Cape Vultures

5.1 Rehabilitate, breed, and release Cape Vultures in South Africa with potential expansion to Namibia

TimeframeFocus on South Africa in year one and two with potential for expansion of these efforts to Namibia in year three

AZA ZoosSan Diego Zoo Global, St. Augustine Alligator Farm, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo los Angeles Zoo, NC Zoo

Field PartnersVulPro

WhereSouth Africa

#06 eNGAGeMeNTincrease Public engagement in Vulture Conservation

6.1 Raise awareness, and encourage positive attitudes towards, and improve actions to reduce threat to African vultures in range countries

6.2 Raise awareness among AZA audiences

6.3 Create and implement consistent signage related to African vulture conservation to be put up in AZA facilities

6.4 Develop media campaign to include regular newspaper articles, documentaries, etc to increase awareness

TimeframeAnnually and adding new sites each year. increase the number of institutions celebrating iVAD by 3 each year. Add two new facilities displaying AV SAFe signage annually.

AZA ZoosCheyenne Mountain Zoo, Denver Zoo, NC Zoo, Raptor TAG, Brandywine Zoo, Zoo Atlanta, St. louis Zoo, San Diego Zoo Global, St. Augustine Alligator Farm, los Angeles Zoo, Tracy Aviary, Dallas Zoo

Field PartnerskRC, CCB, BlB, VulPro, RB, kRC, WCS, Peregrine Fund

WhereTanzania, Botswana, kenya, South Africa

Photo: Volunteering at VulPro, G. Harris, oregon Zoo

Photo: Affixing a transmitter, C. kendall, North Carolina Zoo

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#07 FuNDiNGincrease Funding Directed at African Vulture Conservation

7.1 increase AZA institution funding for African vulture conservation BY 25%

TimeframeAcross all 3 years

AZA ZoosAll Partners

#08 NATioNAl PlANDevelop National Action Plans for African

Vultures

8.1 Develop 1 National Action Plan and begin conversation on how to create these in other countries where needed

Timeframe

AZA ZoosNC Zoo

Field PartnersWCS

WhereTanzania

#09 TRAiNiNGTrain and mentor

in-country nationals in vulture research and conservation

9.1 Work closely with in-country nationals to build local capacity for vulture conservation and research

TimeframeWork with at least 2 people each year

AZA ZoosNC Zoo, San Diego Zoo Global, Denver Zoo, St. louis ZooField PartnersWCS, Peregrine Fund, VulPro, kRC, RB

WhereTanzania, kenya, South Africa, Botswana

Photo: White-headed vulture tagging, C. kendall, North Carolina Zoo

Photo: Training in Tanzania, C. kendall, North Carolina Zoo

Photo: M. Maloy, Denver Zoo

Field PartnersN/A

WhereN/A

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SoCiAl MeDiA Tool kiTincludesevent informationSocial Media informationGraphics (AZA Safe logo, images of African vultures, AZA logo)Facebook cover photo and postTwitter cover photo and tweet instagram post

event/Program information:What: background info on AZA, SAFe Program and iVAD When: Saturday, September 1st 2018Where: Participating AZA institutions (Fill in your “name” here)

Suggested Posts: African Vulture SAFe hashtags and handles: #AZA #makeitSAFeforVultures #SaveourScavengers #SavingSpecies

Take ActionParticipate in an international Vulture Awareness Day event near you.

Support AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums and their work with the AV SAFe Program.

Get a “Save our Scavengers” T-Shirt, while the campaign lasts, host a “Venture out for Vultures” hike/walk/fun 5k/program, or create your own fundraiser!

Support one of the four SAFe Partner Projects

Photo: White-headed vulture, C. kendall, North Carolina Zoo

Download AV SAFe logos from RaptorTAG.com/SAFe

CMYk: 2/64/100/0RGB: 250/122/34#f07a22

CMYk: 0/29/87/0RGB: 252/188/59#fcb3b

CMYk: 33/58/84/20RGB: 150/102/59#96663b

CMYk: 60/5/100/0RGB: 117/183/67#75b743

CMYk: 57/0/5/0RGB: 88/201/233#58c9e9

Facebook if possible, please tag AZA’s Facebook and the Raptor TAG (/RaptorTAG) facebook pages in your posts.• 7 of Africa’s African Vultures are threatened with extinction due to

poaching, poisoning, collisions with power infrastructure, and habitat loss. The fate of vultures is directly tied to that of many other key African species, like elephants and lions, and The @Association of Zoos and Aquariums is working to #makeitSAFeforVultures again.

• Join us in celebrating vultures this #iVAD to #SaveourScavengers

instagram• Vultures are disappearing from Africa. in the last 30 years, they’ve

declined between 63-95%. AZA SAFe partners have contributed $420,000 since 2014 toward vulture research and conservation. Your visits to #AZA accredited @zoos_aquariums that support #SavingSpecies matters.

Twitter• Vultures are are the most threatened group of birds in the world, with

16 of the 23 facing #extinction. African Vulture SAFe is working to #SaveourScavengers

• Vultures are killed when they feed on poisoned carcasses left by poachers or farmers. Stopping poaching and reducing human-wildlife conflict is critical to #SavingSpecies. AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums are working to #MakeitSAFeforVultures

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So You WANT To SuPPoRT AFRiCAN VulTuRe SAFe?

Venture Out for Vultures

Celebrate IVAD- All Year!

Quarters for Conservation

Other Financial Support

Make Stickers/Decals

Have a “Vulture Vomit” Bake SaleDownload the iVAD Toolkit from RaptorTAG.com/VultureDay for ideas and lessons on how you can educate your guests about how amazing Vultures. The toolkit includes vulture facts, activities for walk-by stations, lessons for groups, and more!

one of the action plan items for SAFe is raising awareness and increasing fundraising support by 25%. You can help do this in a number of ways- see below for some inspiration!

organize a hike, 1/3/5k walk or run, or some other “outing” celebrating vultures!

We are recommending groups do this during the month of September, which is not only the same month as iVAD, but also the beginning of fall raptor migration season and a great time to watch for vultures!

Make African Vulture SAFe one of your selected Quarters for Conservation recepients.

Download the African Vulture SAFe logo from the TAG website to print or make decals or stickers.

Make stickers or decals to give out or sell, or add to products like water bottles, shirts, and more. Donate the proceeds to AV SAFe.

Bake sales can be a great way to raise some funds for African Vulture SAFe. Get creative with your recipes!

Get vulture shaped cookie cutters off of Amazon.com for traditional cookies. Pre-decorate, or decorate as a craft station (for a fee).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FuC6XuY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_dp_Sy3yBbQTGSPFG

https://www.amazon.com/old-River-Road-Vulture-Cookie/dp/B00295Qe0e

Make vulture “vomit” cookies using “White Trash,” “Puppy Chow,” or similar type recipes.

Get the African Vulture “Save our Scavengers” graphic to make your own items for fundraisers.

Graphics and Logos are available on the RaptorTAG.com/SAFE page

The AZA African Vulture SAFe program supports the in-situ conservation work of the four programs highlighted in the Focus Programs on page 4. You or your organization can:

1. Donate funds to the African Vulture SAFe program outright.2. Donate funds, but specify which of the four projects you want to support. 3. Directly support one of the four Focus Programs and let us know about your support (financially or in-kind). 4. Directly support, or report existing or planned support, any one of the individual action items noted in the

Strategy overview, beginning on page 7.

Please contact Corinne kendall (Corinne.kendall@nczoo.org)for more information on how to support African Vulture SAFe.

Check out our African Vulture SAFe T-shirt campaign at Bonfire before XX date to get

your own shirt! Available in multiple colors, cuts (womens, unisex, v-neck, long

sleeve, & tanks).

Fundraiser Alert

“White Trash” iNGReDieNTS3 1⁄2 cups Cheerios toasted oat cereal3 cups Rice Chex3 cups Corn Chex16 ounces M&M's plain chocolate candy2 1⁄2 cups salted mixed nuts2 cups small pretzels2 (11 ounce) packages white chocolate chips

DiReCTioNSDump the cereals, M&Ms, nuts & pretzels in a large bowl.Melt the white chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler. Melt very slowly, stirring occasionally, being careful not to burn the chocolate.Dump melted chocolate over the rest of the ingredients and fold over and over until you have well-coated hunks and chunks.Spread the whole mess out on parchment paper and set in a cool place until it sets up, then break it into pieces.Store in zip-top bags or air-tight containers.

http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/alton-browns-white-trash-226723

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/01/12/cupcake-puppy-chow/

“Funfetti” Puppy Chow iNGReDieNTS:4 and 1/2 cups Rice Chex cereal (do not use Crispex - i've found that it breaks easily)1/4 cup salted butter3 Tablespoons heavy cream (no substitutions)10 oz white chocolate candy melts or pure white chocolate1 teaspoon almond emulsion or extract (please see note below)1 teaspoon butter emulsion or extract (please see note below)2/3 cup assorted sprinkles1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar

DiReCTioNSPour the cereal in a large bowl, set aside.in a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter, cream, and white chocolate. Stir constantly until the white chocolate is fully melted. The mixture will be very thick and buttery. Remove from heat. Stir in almond extract and butter extract.Pour warm white chocolate mixture over cereal. Stir it all together gently, making sure not to break the cereal. Wait about 3-4 (no longer) minutes and gently fold in the sprinkles - you don't want the sprinkles to lose their color.in a large zipped top bag or covered container, add the powdered sugar. Pour the white chocolate covered cereal into the large bag or container. Seal the bag or container and shake until all the cereal is coated with the powdered mixture.Discard excess powder and enjoy. Store at room temperature up to 2 weeks.

*Recipe Notes:You can make the puppy chow without emulsions/extracts still maintaining a funfetti look and basic white chocolate flavor.

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iNTeRNATioNAl VulTuRe AWAReNeSS DAYAlways the first Saturday of September

What is IVAD?international Vulture Awareness Day is celebrated in Setpember of each year to raise awareness about vultures and the conservation issues they face around the world.

16: The number

of vulture species are considered

Threatened, endangered,

or Critically endangered.

Black Vulture

Turkey Vulture

California Condor

Hooded

Vulture

Bearded Vulture

Eurasian Gri�

on

Cinereous Vultu

re

Slend

er-bil

led Vult

ure

Himalayan Vultu

re

Indian

Vulture

Whit

e-rum

ped Vult

ure

Red-hea

ded Vult

ure

Egyptian Vultu

re

Lesser Yellow-headed

King Vulture

Greater Yellow-headed

Andean Condor

Palm Nut Vulture

Lappet-faced Vulture

White-backed Vulture

Rüppell's Gri�on Vulture

Cape Vulture

White-headed Vulture

Coragyps atratus

Cathartes aura

Gymnogyps californianusGyps africanus

Torgos tracheliotos

Gypohierax angolensis

Trigonoceps occipitalis

Gyps coprotheres

Gyps rueppelli

Necrosy

rtes m

onach

us

Gypaetu

s barb

atus

Aegypiu

s mon

achus

Gyps ten

uirost

ris

Gyps hi

malayen

sis

Gyps in

dicus

Gyps be

ngalen

sis

Sarcog

yps ca

lvus

Neophro

n perc

nopte

rus

Gyps fu

lvus

Vultur gryphus

Cathartes melambrotus

Cathartes burrovianus

Sarcoramphus papa

LC

LC

LC

LC

NT

LC

CE

CECE CE CE CE

CE

CE

CE

EN

EN

EN

LC

LC NTNT NT

The number of vulture species in the world. At least one type of vulture is found on every continent except Australia and Antarctica.23

Globally, vultures are the most endangered group of birds.

EN

Register for iVAD

if you are hosting iVAD at your organization this

year, we would love to hear about it!

Register with the Raptor TAG

Register with VultureDay.org

Populations of many species of vulture are under pressure and facing persecution, with more than half threatened with extinction.

Africa’s eight species of vulture have declined by an average of 62% during the last 30 years. in parts of Western Africa, some species have declined more than 95%.

62% in 30 years

16

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AuDieNCe Zoo guests, potential partners and funders

BiG iDeA Vultures are adapted for their job as nature’s cleanup crew

GuiDiNG QueSiToN

What are general facts about vultures that help us understand their role in their ecosystem?

kNoW YouR VulTuReS

1. Vultures can consume decaying and diseased flesh that would make most other animals sick because of their highly acidic stomach acid.

2. Many species of vultures practice urohydrosis, urinating on their legs, as a way of cooling themselves and sanitizing their legs and feet.

3. Vultures will vomit up semi-digested food to help ward off predators and to help lighten their weight if they need to escape from a predator quickly. Turkey vultures may regurgitate food around their nest site to keep potential predators away.

4. Vulture species are divided into New World (the Americas) and old World (europe, Africa, Asia) groups depending on their ranges. The two groups are not closely related, however, even though they both fill the same ecological niche.

5. old World vultures, being closely related to hawks and eagles, rely on their keen eyesight to locate food. Some New World vultures, like turkey vultures, also have a keen sense of smell that allows them to locate food. They can find hidden carcasses by detecting the gasses that are released during decomposition.

6. it is a myth that vultures circle over sick animals or humans waiting for them to die. Vultures circling in the sky have found a rising column of air, a thermal, and are using it to gain altitude to locate carcasses. They may also circle around a carcass waiting for another vulture to inspect the carcass first.

7. Many species of vultures have bald heads. While this has been thought of as an adaptation to prevent disease spread, more research is necessary to confirm this hypothesis. However, many studies have been shown that their bald heads are highly vascularized, providing a great platform for thermoregulation.

8. The Andean Condor, found in South America, has the largest wingspan of any raptor in the world at over 10 feet. The hooded vulture, found in sub-Saharan Africa, has a wingspan of 5 feet and is among the smallest of vulture species.

9. Vultures play a vital role in the health of the environments in which they live. They are referred to as “Nature’s Clean-up Crew” and their scavenging ways help prevent the spread of diseases, such as rabies, anthrax, cholera, botulism, tuberculosis, and many more.

10. Vultures are social and feed, fly, and roost in groups. A group of flying vultures is a kettle, a group of vultures roosting is a committee, and a group of vultures feeding is a wake.

11. Vultures are the only known obligate scavenger.

12. 16 of the 23 species of vultures are threatened with extinction.

SouRCeS:

D. T. Blumstein, T. N. Rangchi, T. Briggs, F. S. De Andrade, and B. Natterson-Horowitz, “A Systematic Review of Carrion eaters’ Adaptations to Avoid Sickness,” J. Wildl. Dis., vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 577–581, Jul. 2017.

e. R. Buechley and Ç. H. Şekercioğlu, “The avian scavenger crisis: looming extinctions, trophic cascades, and loss of critical ecosystem functions,” Biol. Conserv., vol. 198, pp. 220–228, Jun. 2016.

Fallon, katie. (2017). Vulture: The Private life of an unloved Bird. Foreedge

J. larochelle, J. Delson, and k. Schmidt-Nielsen, “Temperature regulation in the Black Vulture,” Can. J. Zool., vol. 60, no. 4, pp. 491–494, Apr. 1982.

D. l. ogada, F. keesing, and M. Z. Virani, “Dropping dead: causes and consequences of vulture population declines worldwide,” Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci., vol. 1249, no. 1, pp. 57–71, Feb. 2012.

J. Ward, D. J. McCafferty, D. C. Houston, and G. D. Ruxton, “Why do vultures have bald heads? The role of postural adjustment and bare skin areas in thermoregulation,” J. Therm. Biol., vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 168–173, Apr. 2008.

worldbirdnames.org/bow/raptors

iuCNredlist.org

FEEL LEARN ACTAs a result of the program, our audience will develop or strengthen their…

knowledge of vulture natural history

As a result of the program, our audience will know/comprehend…

That vultures are critically important to the health of our ecosystems.

As a result of the program, our audience will …• Attend and

participate in a local iVAD event

• learn about vulture species in their community

• observe vultures at a Hawkwatch site, during Great Backyard Bird Count, or other birding event.

Photo: A. Botha