123 vultures poisoned, die in South African wildlife park

A pair of Cape vultures in their enclosure at vulture conservation programme in South Africa. FILE PIC/AFP

At least 123 vultures died in South Africa's flagship national park after eating the carcass of an elephant that was poisoned by poachers with agricultural pesticides, park authorities and an animal conservation group said on Thursday. Another 83 vultures that were rescued from the site and transported for treatment by helicopter or a special vulture ambulance were recovering.

The mass poisoning was one of the worst seen in the famous Kruger National Park in northern South Africa, said SANParks, the national parks agency. The elephant had been poisoned by poachers in a remote part of the huge park to harvest its body parts for illegal wildlife trade, SANParks and the Endangered Wildlife Trust said.

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