Vulture decline recorded in Cambodia

An annual vulture census carried out across Cambodia has recorded the second lowest population estimate for ten years. 

The new figures follow a major vulture poisoning incident that occurred in Cambodia’s Mondulkiri Protected Forest back in february when 13 vultures were found dead.

This is the largest vulture fatality ever reported from a poisoning incident in Cambodia.

Vultures have also abandoned a colony adjacent to a forest in the Mondulkiri Province after a Vietnamese company began clearing it.

“On their own, these data should not be considered evidence of a decline in the vulture population in Cambodia”, said Sum Phearun, BirdLife’s Cambodian Vulture Conservation Project Coordinator.

“The data is suggestive, though, that a decline is occurring amongst vultures in eastern Cambodia and we need to understand why and respond to it. Is it probably a result of a combination of poisoning, habitat destruction and disturbance or lack of consistency in conducting restaurants and inconsistencies in data collection at these sites.”

Continued