ABSTRACT. – The Egyptian vulture is a globally endangered species showing a population decline in the Balkans of ~7 % per year. A juvenile individual was tagged with a satellite transmitter in Greece and tracked to its wintering ground in Niger and Nigeria. Based on telemetry data, the bird was indicated as having died and two simultaneous investigations in both countries were done to reveal its fate. Local people were interviewed and we documented a case of an Egyptian vulture that was killed in Niger by a Nigerian hunter to be sold at a fetish market in Nigeria. Information about used techniques to capture vultures, the prices of vulture parts at fetish markets and their use in belief-based practices was collected. Different attitudes towards vultures were observed between Niger and Nigeria. In Niger, the attitude was more likely to be negative but there was no utilisation of vultures, while in Nigeria, vultures represented a commercial interest due to the belief that vulture meat can bestow magical power. Although vultures are protected in both countries, there is an ongoing persecution of the birds by Nigerian hunters for trading purposes. More explicit investigation using a careful approach combined with appropriate awareness campaigns could be the ‘game-changer’ to stop this problem with its deep-rooted cultural basis.