Hope of Lottery Win Endangers SA Vultures

December 30 - The dream of winning the lottery is being taken too far by traditional muti men, it was claimed by South African wildlife experts.

It is believed that South African vultures are in danger of extinction, following the use of their brains in traditional medicine.

In particular, the dried brains of vultures are regularly smoked by healers in order to predict the winning numbers of the lottery, or help clients at the horse races.

"Vultures are scarce," said a healer at the Muti Market in Johannesburg. "I only have one every three or four months. Everybody asks for the brain. You see things that people can't see. For lotto, you dream the numbers."

The healer explained how the vision works.

"We make the brain dry and mix it with mud and you smoke it like a cigarette or a stick," he explained. "Then the vision comes."

According to traditional medicine men and women, vulture heads are known to be excellent for viewing the future.

However, wildlife research groups warn that if South Africans continue to believe that dried vulture brains can help them predict winning lottery numbers, the birds may be extinct in our life time.

"Traditional use as it is currently happening is likely to render vultures extinct in Southern Africa on its own within 20 - 30 years," said Steve McKean, a wildlife researcher.

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