Vultures in South Africa face extinction. Gamblers smoke their brains for a glimpse of the future.
When smoked and inhaled, the brain of a vulture is said to confer the gift of premonition. Lottery players hope to learn the winning numbers in advance.
The demand for vulture brains to use in muti – traditional medicine – leads wildlife experts to fear the birds could be driven to extinction within two or three decades.
Vultures' acute vision, and ability to find prey, has kindled a belief that they possess clairvoyant powers. Their brains are dried and rolled into a cigarette or inhaled as vapours in the hope they will bring a vision of the future - including lottery numbers and sports results.
Traditional healers prefer that the bird be captured alive as the head needs to be removed while it is still living so that the brain does not flow down into the spinal cord and the muti loses its potency.
Seven of the nine species of vulture in South Africa are rated endangered.
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