A number of vulture species were ubiquitous in undisturbed West African savannahs. However, in recent decades most species have declined rapidly and some are now at the brink of extinction. For some species, large protected areas are their last strongholds, but even there pronounced declines have become obvious in recent years. However, we lack even basic knowledge about current distribution, densities, movement patterns and threats. Comoé National Park (CNP) in northeast Côte d’Ivoire is one of the largest protected savannahs in West Africa and still hosts breeding populations of three critically endangered species (Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus, White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus, White-headed Vulture Trigonoceps occipitalis). In total, 590 km of searches for vultures and their nests were conducted on foot in southwest CNP in the dry seasons of 2018 and 2019. Thirty-seven active vulture nests (Hooded Vulture – 2, White-backed Vulture – 32, White-headed Vulture – 3) were discovered. CNP may be one of the last refuges for these species in Côte d’Ivoire and important for their conservation in West Africa. There are, however, hints that vultures have declined in CNP since the 1990s and are now rarer especially at the Park's fringe. Together with observations of increasing poaching activities, this underlines that large reserves with strict law-enforcement are needed to save West Africa's vultures from extinction.

在未受干扰的西非大草原中，许多秃鹰物种无处不在。但是，在最近几十年中，大多数物种已迅速减少，而有些物种已濒临灭绝。对于某些物种来说，大型的保护区是他们的最后据点，但近年来，即使明显的下降，也变得显而易见。但是，我们甚至缺乏有关当前分布，密度，移动方式和威胁的基础知识。科莫埃国家公园（CNP）东北科特迪瓦是西非最大的保护草原，仍然主机养殖三种极度濒危的物种（连帽秃鹫人群之一Necrosyrtes monachus，白背秃鹫兀非洲种，白头秃鹫Trigonoceps枕骨）。在2018年和2019年的旱季，在西南CNP徒步进行了590公里的秃鹰及其巢搜寻。37个活跃的秃鹰巢（有冠秃鹰– 2，2，白背雕– 32，白头active）秃– – 3）被发现。CNP可能是科特迪瓦这些物种的最后避难所之一，并且对它们在西非的保护至关重要。但是，有迹象表明，自1990年代以来，CNP的秃鹰数量减少了，现在已经稀少，尤其是在公园的边缘。结合对偷猎活动增加的观察，这表明需要大量储备和严格的执法手段才能拯救西非秃鹰免于灭绝。