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BNHS calls for a new ‘Vulture Census’

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Environment
  • Published
    4th Oct, 2021

Scientists at the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) have recently called for a new vulture census as they believe the population of vulture has stabilized over the years. 

Context

Scientists at the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) have recently called for a new vulture census as they believe the population of vulture has stabilized over the years. 

Important facts about Vultures

  • This large bird of prey with a head and neck more or less bare of feathers, is a relatively social species.
  • Vultures are carnivorousand they eat carrion almost exclusively. 
  • A group of vultures is called a committee, volt or venue.
    • In flight, a flock of vultures is a kettle.
    • When the birds are feeding together at a carcass, the group is called a wake.

Vulture species in India and their status

  • In India, there are 9 recorded species of vultures:
    • Oriental white-backed
    • long-billed
    • Slender-billed
    • Himalayan
    • red-headed
    • Egyptian
    • Bearded
    • Cinereous
    • Eurasian Griffon
  • Between the 1990s and 2007, numbers of three presently critically-endangered species (Oriental white-backed, long-billed and slender-billed vultures) — crashed massively with 99 % of the species having been wiped out.
  • The number of red-headed vultures, also critically-endangered now, declined by 91%
  • Egyptian vultures, listed as ‘endangered’, declined by 80%.
  • The Himalayan, bearded and cinereous vultures are ‘near threatened’.

Cause of decline

  • The cause of the decline was established as diclofenac.
    • It is a veterinary nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), which is used to treat pain and inflammatory diseases such as gout in carcasses that vultures would feed off.

Why are Vultures important?

  • Nature’s clean-up crew: Vultures rid the landscape of deteriorating carcasses and thus help curb the spread of dangerous diseases and bacteria.
  • Their clean-up property is due to strong enzymes present in their stomach that kill off dangerous toxins and microorganisms.

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