Vultures don dey disappear for Nigeria - but di 'Vulture King' dey fight to save dem

"Pipo dey fear di environment wia di shrine dey. No evil go eva happun hia. So, nobody dey fight vultures wey perch hia," na so a man dem call di Vulture King tell di BBC.

Dem dey mostly link am to death and decay, maybe e no dey surprising say wen vultures disappear from di skies across many West African cities, dem no miss am.

Yet across di continent, dia disappearance now dey impossible to ignore, as conservationists dey warn say hunting wey dey linked to traditional beliefs and spiritual practices continue to threaten several vulture species to di point of near extinction.

Without vultures, ecosystems go lose a natural defence against di spread of disease.

Thankfully for one part of south-eastern Nigeria, residents dey try to stop di trend.

Awka-Etiti na home to one sacred forest wey surround shrine wey dey dedicated to a deity dem sabi as Nguma.

At first, di site na one kain cluster of tall trees wey dey inside thick greenery. But for di heart na one ancient tree wey locals say don watch ova di community for hundreds of years, and remain di spiritual home of di shrine.

Dis na largely a Christian community but some residents still continue to observe traditional practices, wia vultures dey play a key role.

Local resident Chukwuemeka Igwe, wey don get di nickname King of Vulture, thanks to im tireless volunteer work wit Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF), say "di indigenous pipo no dey hunt vultures".

Instead, locals dey sometimes offer fresh animal sacrifices for di shrine wey dey attract di birds, e explain.

"And e get one adage we dey use hia wey say: 'Wen you put down a sacrifice and you no see vulture[s], know say sometin don happun for di spirit world'."

E mean say vultures na good omen wen dem do sacrifice becos dia presence suggest say di deity don accept di sacrifice and hear di residents appeal to im power.

Now in im 50s, Igwe say di birds na one feature of daily life for dis town for as long as im fit remember, wey dey waka among humans and scavenge for food.

Yet for many wey venture into di wild elsewia on di continent, vultures no be di first birds to capture dia attention. Rarely we go stop to admire vultures through binoculars or photograph in awe.

For di eyes of many pipo, vultures dey very ugly. But scientists say dem dey provide one of nature most important cleaning services.

Vultures dey consume dead animals within hours, wey dey help to prevent carcasses from becoming breeding grounds for dangerous bacteria and diseases.

Dia disappearance fit get serious consequences, as NCF conservation biologist Stella Egbe tok: "For places wia di total collapse of vultures don happun, we don see di impact of rising zoonotic diseases."

Vultures powerful stomach acids dey allow dem to safely consume infected animals, wey dey help to stop diseases such as anthrax and rabies from spreading.

Without vultures, sabi pipo warn say ecosystems fit lose a natural defence system.

Rapid urban growth across Africa don also play a part, as e don transform landscapes, and destroy many of di tall trees wey di birds dey nest in.

Habitat loss dey far from di only factor.

Poisoning na di cause of death for an estimated 60% of vultures for Africa, according to BirdLife International.

Dis issues go dey high on di agenda wen researchers from across di region meet for Abuja later dis year to review di West African Vulture Conservation Action Plan, wey dem draft for 2022.

Sabi pipo say di use of vultures and dia body parts in traditional medicine and Vodun (also known as Voodoo) na one of di most significant drivers of dia decline, especially for West and southern Africa.

Dead adult vultures for Nigeria use to sell for around 25,000 to 30,000 naira ($18 to $22; £13 to £16) each - but now fit fetch up to 200,000 naira ($145; £107) per bird, Egbe tok.

Vulture eggs and nests dey increasingly targeted too, wey for such a slow-breeding species na catastrophic and "shocking" development, Egbe add.

Adult vultures usually dey reach sexual maturity between di ages of five and seven, and produce only one chick evri year or two. Plus many young vultures no dey survive dia first year.

"And so you fit imagine wetin go happun if a nest dey removed and eggs too dey removed. Dat means a pair of vultures no go get a next generation for dat year. So in addition to hunting, you dey remove dia habitat, you dey remove dia homes," she add.

Seven species of vultures for Africa now dey classified as globally Endangered or Critically Endangered by BirdLife International, di authority for birds on di International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

A recent BirdLife report say African vulture populations don fall by between 80% and 97% over a period of 50 years.

Di group also say for January 2020 dem find more dan 2,000 hooded vultures dead for Guinea-Bissau, many wit dia heads removed - a sign of belief-based practices rather dan natural causes, researchers tok.

As vulture populations continue to fall across di region, conservationists don dey search for communities wia dem no dey hunt dis birds, or fear or exploit dem.

Dem find one of such example for Awka-Etiti.

Yet in recent years, Igwe say im and oda residents dey worry wen dem notice say outsiders dey come hunt di birds and vulture numbers don reduce.

For im quest to save di birds, e dey visit markets, buses and public spaces to spread di word: "I dey tell dem say vulture dey helpful to human life".

E say e "no fit run away" from im unusual nickname of Ezeudene, or di King of Vulture.

"I dey fight to make nature exist di way e suppose to be."

Working wit di NCF for di past six years, Igwe don mobilise community leaders, local groups and security teams to protect di birds from outside hunters, wit local bylaws wey now dey help to formalise dia protection.

Local volunteers wey dey monitor di birds say now dem don record more dan 160 vultures, up from about 20 wey dem record for 2017.

Nigeria don become a major hub for di illegal trade of vultures, conservationists tok, partly becos of di biodiversity and porous borders.

"We dey do evritin possible to make sure say di smuggling of items, including vultures, including donkeys, and oda species outside di kontri dey reduced to di barest minimum," na so Abdullahi Maiwada, a tok-tok pesin for di Nigerian Customs Service insist.

E say customs officials don carry out seizures of protected wildlife and support prosecutions wey dey linked to illegal trafficking.

Dis na example of how Nigeria dey try to live up dia commitments as a member of di Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) - under which endangered species no dey allowed to dey traded across borders.

But Maiwada admit to di BBC say enforcement alone no dey enough - education go dey crucial too.

"We no fit do am witout di cooperation or understanding of members of di community," e continue. "If pipo understand why dis species gatz dey preserved, den our enforcement go only dey complementary to those wey decide to dey stubborn "

Dat message naim dey for di heart of di conservation work for Awka-Etiti and across parts of Nigeria.

Although reliable population data dey limited, conservationists say e get some encouraging signs for Awka-Etiti, wit local engagement wey dey help residents to dey vigilant against outside hunters.

"Di missing vultures almost don come back. If you go di marketplace now, you go see vultures. At one time dem bin disappear, but now dem dey come back," Igwe confam.

Egbe believe say dis small, south-eastern town dey demonstrate wetin dey possible wen communities lead conservation efforts.

"Wetin we don do for Awka-Etiti na one very good example of a success story wia pipo don take charge of wetin dey go on for dia environment. Dat wan dey make us happy."

For Igwe, evri returning bird represent hope.

But wit populations wey still dey collapse across Africa, e know say protecting dem go require much more dan one community.

Additional reporting by Abayomi Adisa, Ifiokabasi Ettang and Natasha Booty