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I would like to talk to you about

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a very special group of animals.

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There are 10,000 species of birds in the world.

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Vultures are amongst the most threatened group of birds.

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When you see a vulture like this, the first thing

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that comes to your mind is, these are disgusting, ugly,

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greedy creatures that are just after your flesh,

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associated with politicians. (Laughter) (Applause)

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I want to change that perception. I want to change

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those feelings you have for these birds, because

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they need our sympathy. They really do. (Laughter)

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And I'll tell you why.

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First of all, why do they have such a bad press?

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When Charles Darwin went across the Atlantic in 1832

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on the Beagle, he saw the turkey vulture,

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and he said, "These are disgusting birds

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with bald scarlet heads that are formed to revel in putridity." (Laughter)

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You could not get a worse insult, and that from Charles Darwin. (Laughter)

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You know, he changed his mind when he came back,

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and I'll tell you why.

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They've also be associated with Disney — (Laughter) —

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personified as goofy, dumb, stupid characters.

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More recently, if you've been following the Kenyan press

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— (Laughter) (Applause) (Cheers) —

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these are the attributes that they associated

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the Kenyan MPs with. But I want to challenge that.

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I want to challenge that. Do you know why?

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Because MPs

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do not keep the environment clean. (Laughter)

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MPs do not help to prevent the spread of diseases.

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They are hardly monogamous. (Laughter) (Applause)

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They are far from being extinct. (Laughter)

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And, my favorite is, vultures are better looking. (Applause) (Laughter)

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So there's two types of vultures in this planet.

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There are the New World vultures that are mainly found

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in the Americas, like the condors and the caracaras,

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and then the Old World vultures, where we have

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16 species. From these 16, 11 of them are facing

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a high risk of extinction.

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So why are vultures important? First of all,

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they provide vital ecological services. They clean up.

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They're our natural garbage collectors.

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They clean up carcasses right to the bone.

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They help to kill all the bacteria. They help absorb anthrax

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that would otherwise spread and cause

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huge livestock losses and diseases in other animals.

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Recent studies have shown that in areas where there are

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no vultures, carcasses take up to three to four times

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to decompose, and this has huge ramifications

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for the spread of diseases.

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Vultures also have tremendous historical significance.

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They have been associated in ancient Egyptian culture.

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Nekhbet was the symbol of the protector

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and the motherhood, and together with the cobra,

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symbolized the unity between Upper and Lower Egypt.

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In Hindu mythology, Jatayu was the vulture god,

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and he risked his life in order to save the goddess Sita

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from the 10-headed demon Ravana.

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In Tibetan culture, they are performing very important

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sky burials. In places like Tibet, there are no places

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to bury the dead, or wood to cremate them,

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so these vultures provide a natural disposal system.

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So what is the problem with vultures?

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We have eight species of vultures that occur in Kenya,

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of which six are highly threatened with extinction.

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The reason is that they're getting poisoned, and the reason

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that they're getting poisoned is because there's

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human-wildlife conflicts. The pastoral communities

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are using this poison to target predators,

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and in return, the vultures are falling victim to this.

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In South Asia, in countries like India and Pakistan,

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four species of vultures are listed as critically endangered,

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which means they have less than 10 or 15 years to go extinct,

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and the reason is because they are falling prey

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by consuming livestock that has been treated

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with a painkilling drug like Diclofenac.

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This drug has now been banned for veterinary use in India,

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and they have taken a stand.

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Because there are no vultures, there's been a spread

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in the numbers of feral dogs at carcass dump sites,

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and when you have feral dogs, you have a huge time bomb

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of rabies. The number of cases of rabies

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has increased tremendously in India.

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Kenya is going to have one of the largest wind farms in Africa:

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353 wind turbines are going to be up at Lake Turkana.

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I am not against wind energy, but we need to work

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with the governments, because wind turbines

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do this to birds. They slice them in half.

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They are bird-blending machines.

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In West Africa, there's a horrific trade

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of dead vultures to serve the witchcraft and the fetish market.

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So what's being done? Well, we're conducting research

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on these birds. We're putting transmitters on them.

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We're trying to determine their basic ecology,

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and see where they go.

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We can see that they travel different countries, so

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if you focus on a problem locally, it's not going to help you.

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We need to work with governments in regional levels.

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We're working with local communities.

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We're talking to them about appreciating vultures,

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about the need from within to appreciate these

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wonderful creatures and the services that they provide.

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How can you help? You can become active,

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make noise. You can write a letter to your government

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and tell them that we need to focus on these very

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misunderstood creatures. Volunteer your time

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to spread the word. Spread the word.

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When you walk out of this room, you will be informed

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about vultures, but speak to your families, to your children,

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to your neighbors about vultures.

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They are very graceful. Charles Darwin said

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he changed his mind because he watched them fly

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effortlessly without energy in the skies.

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Kenya, this world, will be much poorer

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without these wonderful species.

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Thank you very much. (Applause)