As Zimbabwe joined the rest of the world in marking International Vulture Awareness Day on Saturday, environmentalists in Victoria Falls intensified efforts to dispel myths surrounding the birds and promote their protection.

Often misunderstood, vultures play a critical role by feeding on animal carcasses, helping to prevent the spread of diseases and pests. However, their survival is threatened by illegal wildlife poisoning and poaching.

Conservation Educationist Mr Nqobile Mkhwananzi said communities needed to understand the importance of protecting vultures.

«Vultures are an important part of our biodiversity because they clean up our environment. All dead carcasses are eaten by vultures, so we have to treat them well because they are threatened by poachers and poisoning.

«This means our ecosystem is no longer balanced when these vultures are being killed. We make sure that we educate the future generation and communities so that they get to know about the importance of conserving our wildlife, our heritage and all our natural resources that the country is endowed with,» he said.

Conservationists are also working to address deeply rooted myths and misconceptions associated with vultures.

Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust Conservation Educationist Ms Naledi Sthwala said the birds help prevent carcasses from becoming breeding grounds for harmful pests and disease-causing organisms.

«Vultures are very important to our ecosystems. They are nature’s clean-up crew. When you have dead carcasses, these are the clean-up crews; they clean up the carcasses, making sure that the carcasses are not breeding sites for other pests that can be harmful to human beings, wildlife and everything in the wild,» she said.

Beyond conservation education, tourism operators in Victoria Falls are taking practical steps to support vulture populations.

At The Boma, the Vulture Culture Restaurant has repurposed meat waste from its kitchens for more than two decades, creating monitored feeding sites for the birds.

Tourism Executive Mr Anald Musonza said the initiative supports vulture conservation while raising awareness among tourists, staff and communities.

«The reason why we did it is because we understand that the vultures are under threat and their breeding cycle is not the greatest, so their population is really, really dwindling. Through this, we give them a chance and an opportunity to multiply.

«Not only that, we get an opportunity to educate our guests, staff and the public on the importance of vultures to the environment. This has been going on very well for the past two decades,» he said.

Conservationists say protecting vultures will require sustained community education, stronger action against wildlife poisoning and poaching, and greater participation from the tourism sector.

In Victoria Falls, conservation and eco-tourism initiatives are helping safeguard vulture populations and the ecosystems that depend on them.