Species Use Database

White-baked vulture
Gyps africanus

Used for Medicine and hygiene in Nigeria

A. Species

Scientific name: Gyps africanus

Common name(s): White-baked vulture

Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Critically Endangered


B. Location of use

Geographic location(s):

  • Nigeria

Country/Region:


C. Scale of assessment

Scale of assessment: Individual Site

Name/Details of location: 30km2 radius of Katsina town and about 50km2 to the border of Nigeria with Niger Republic


D. Timescale of use

Start Year: 2011

End Year: 2019


E. Information about the use

How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat

Type of use: Extractive

Practice of use: Hunting and/or Trapping of live terrestrial and aerial animals

Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal

Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism and Only parts or products of the organism

Purpose(s) of end use: Medicine and hygiene

Motivation of use: Traditional/Cultural/Spiritual

Is this use legal or illegal?: not recorded


F. Information about the Users

Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people


G. Information about the sustainability of use

Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded


Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species

there is the need to carry out comprehensive assessment of trade in avifauna for improving conservation policies and practices in Nigeria sensitize the public on the importance of conservation of vulture in order to scale down the rate at which the species and its parts are over harvested in the study area and Nigeria at large


Record source

Information about the record source: own_res_data_knowledge

Date of publication/issue/production: 2020-01-01T00:00:00+0000

Source Reference(s):

Muhammad, N. D., & Mustapha, Z. K. (2020). Collapsing towards extinction? Trade in birds carcasses for traditional medicine and the decline of vulture population in Katsina State, Nigeria. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management, 24(4), 575-580.

Date of record entry: 2024-08-19


Records from the same source material: