Hope for Indian vultures as chick is bred in captivity
01/11/2007 00:00:00
Asian vulture facts.
- Nine species of vultures are found on the Indian subcontinent, of which, the white-backed vulture Gyps bengalensis, long-billed vulture Gyps indicus and slender-billed Gyps tenuirostris vultures are the rarest.
- Rapid vulture declines were first seen at the Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan. Numbers of breeding pairs in the park declined steadily through the late 1990s and by 2000 there were no breeding pairs left.
- Vultures are declining by between 22 - 48 % a year in India. They die within days of consuming flesh from the carcasses of diclofenac-treated cattle and water buffaloes.
- Vultures play an important role in scavenging and cleaning up carcasses in Asia. The absence of vultures has led to a massive increase in feral dog numbers. Large packs of wild dogs now feed on carcass dumps increasing the threat of rabies and other diseases. Water pollution is also a risk because feral dogs are less effective in cleaning carcasses.
- The IUCN – World Conservation Union has classed all 3 Asian vulture species as Critically Endangered, the category most at risk of extinction in the near future.
- Meloxicam is recently developed drug used widely in Europe and the USA to treat livestock.
- Scientists hope to establish another 4 breeding centres in South Asia.
- Captive breeding and release of a related species, the Eurasian griffon vulture, led to a thriving wild population being re-established in the Cevennes region of France, from which the species had been wiped out by persecution.
- The Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre of the Bombay Natural History Society is supported by Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, the UK government’s Darwin Initiative, the RSPB, the Zoological Survey of London and the governments of Haryana and West Bengal.
- For more information on vulture conservation visit: www.vulturerescue.org
One of the world’s most threatened birds has bred in captivity for the first time, in India.
The Oriental white-backed vulture chick hatched last week at the breeding centre in northern India and belongs to one of three Asian vulture species facing a grave threat of extinction. Asian vulture numbers have declined by between 97 - 99% and scientists did not expect the birds to breed in captivity until at least 2008.
Dr Vibhu Prakash, lead scientist for the vulture breeding programme said: ‘This is the most precious new year gift from nature to vulture conservation. The egg was laid in November and since then we have been waiting and hoping. This success shows that we have got the conditions right, so now we can plan ahead with confidence to breed many more vultures in the future.’
Vultures are nature’s most efficient scavengers but many millions of Oriental white-backed, slender-billed and long-billed vultures died in south Asia in the last 12 years, after feeding on the carcasses of livestock treated with the drug diclofenac shortly before death.
The veterinary use of diclofenac is now being phased out in India, Pakistan and Nepal. In January 2006, scientists from the RSPB, ZSL and elsewhere proved that the drug meloxicam was a suitable, and safe, alternative.
The breeding centre where the chick has hatched, in Pinjore, Haryana, is one of two set up to house wild birds caught to protect them from remnant uses of diclofenac. The other centre is at the Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal. Conservationists believe it will be at least 10 years before diclofenac is no longer a threat. Vulture numbers are now so low that the he birds’ survival is largely dependent on captive breeding success.
Chris Bowden, Head of the RSPB’s Vulture Conservation Programme said: ‘The hatching of this vulture chick is a hugely important milestone and shows that the vulture breeding programme really can help save the vultures once diclofenac is removed from the environment.
‘Most of the 130 vultures at the breeding centres were collected as nestlings, so are far too young to breed. So this early sign of success gives us confidence that the conservation breeding programme is on track.’
Dr Asad Rahmani, Director of the Bombay Natural History Society said: ‘The
ban on the killer drug diclofenac must be implemented urgently and effectively to make sure these vultures have a future. The increasing availability of meloxicam means that farmers and vets can switch to the new drug. But this must happen immediately, if we are to avoid losing the last remaining wild vultures.’
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