Conservation of Vultures

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Tamil Nadu government formed a committee to set up an institutional framework for the effective conservation of vultures. 

• Tamil Nadu boasts the largest population of vultures south of the Vindhiya Mountain Range.
• Alarmed at the 96% decline in India’s vulture population between 1993 and 2003, the Central government put into place two action plans to protect the species at the national level: the first in 2006 and the second, ongoing plan for 2020-2025.
• One of the important action points in this nationwide plan is the formation of State-level committees to save the critically endangered population of vultures.
• Vulture numbers are decreasing over the last few years, with experts attributing the cause to lesser availability of prey as well as erratic weather. 
• Experts also agree that the use of some Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs to treat cattle has led to the crash in vulture populations across India.
• The State government has banned the use of diclofenac to treat cattle, while there are strict restrictions for the sale of other NSAIDs in the Nilgiris, Erode and Coimbatore districts.

The State is home to four species of vultures — 

• The white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis), 
• Long-billed vultures (Gyps indicus), 
• The Asian king-vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) 
• The Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus).

The white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis)

• This species qualifies as Critically Endangered because it has suffered an extremely rapid population decline of >99% over three generations.
• When it was first assessed in 1988 it was classified as a Least concern species owing to a large range and population.
• It was reassessed from a Least Concern to Near Threatened species in the 2007 IUCN Red List.
• In 2012 it was added to the list of Endangered species.
• Gyps bengalensis occurs in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and southern Viet Nam, and may be extinct in southern China and Malaysia (BirdLife International 2001).

The long-billed vulture

• The Indian vulture/long billed vulture is native to India, Pakistan and Nepal.
• It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2002.
• Indian vultures died of kidney failure caused by diclofenac poisoning. It breeds mainly on hilly crags in central and peninsular India.
• The Indian vulture and the white-romped vulture have suffered a 99%–97% population decrease in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.
• Diclofenac is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and when given to working animals it can reduce joint pain and so keep them working for longer.
• The drug is believed to be swallowed by vultures with the flesh of dead cattle who were given diclofenac in their last days of life.

The Red-headed vulture

• The red-headed vulture also known as the Asian king vulture, Indian black vulture or Pondicherry vulture is mainly found in the Indian subcontinent, with small populations in some parts of Southeast Asia.
• It has no subspecies.
• Today the range of the red-headed vulture is localized primarily to northern India.
• It was up listed to critically endangered in the 2007 IUCN Red List.

The Egyptian vulture

• The Egyptian vulture also called the white scavenger vulture or pharaoh’s chicken, is only member of the genus Neophron.
• It is widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa to India
• IUCN Red List Status: Endangered.

Conservation Initiatives:

National Board for Wildlife(NBWL) has approved an Action Plan for Vulture Conservation 2020-2025. Key highlights of the plan include,

• Vulture Conservation Centre: Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will get a vulture conservation and breeding centre.
• Vulture Safe zone: Establishment of at least one vulture-safe zone in each state for the conservation of the remnant populations in that state.
• Rescue Centres: Establishment of four rescue centres, in Pinjore (Haryana), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Guwahati (Assam) and Hyderabad (Telangana). There are currently no dedicated rescue centres for treating vultures.
• Toxic Drugs: A system to automatically remove a drug from veterinary use if it is found to be toxic to vultures with the help of the Drugs Controller General of India.
• Vultures Census: Coordinated nationwide vulture counting involving forest departments, the Bombay Natural History Society, research institutes, nonprofits and members of the public. This would be for getting a more accurate estimate of the size of vulture populations in the country.
• Database on Threats to Vulture: A database on emerging threats to vulture conservation including collision and electrocution, unintentional poisoning.