Millions of vultures vanished after a cattle drug, followed by 500,000 human deaths

For generations, vultures were part of the everyday landscape, clearing livestock carcasses before they could linger.

In the 1990s, diclofenac caused their numbers to collapse from around 50 million.

Their disappearance was linked to rising stray dog numbers, water contamination and an estimated 500,000 additional human deaths between 2000 and 2005.