Kamrup vulture deaths

Context

Wildlife authorities in Assam recently said they had found the carcasses of nearly 100 endangered vultures.

About

About Vultures in India:

Vultures are scavenging birds of prey.
Vultures are nature's most efficient scavengers.
The Gyps vultures are specialized to feed on the soft tissue of the large ungulate carcasses.
They play a vital role in the ecosystem by cleaning up the rotten carcasses left in the open.
The population of Gyps vultures in the Indian subcontinent has crashed since 1990s onwards.
Veterinary use of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug 'diclofenac' is the main cause attributed for this drastic population decline.
Government of India has banned the use of diclofenac in veterinary medicine, has initiated Vulture Breeding Programme for ex-situ conservation and also enhanced in situ protection of the remaining populations.
India is home to nine species of vultures, but most of them face the danger of extinction.

S. No	Category	Vulture Name
1	Critically Endangered	1. Oriental White-backed Vulture 2. Long-billed Vulture 3. Slender-billed Vulture 4. Red-headed Vulture
2	Endangered	Egyptian Vulture
3	Near Threatened	1. Himalayan Vulture 2. Cinereous Vulture 3. Bearded Vulture
4	Least Concern	Eurasian Griffon

Significance of Vultures:

They play a crucial role in the environments in which they live.
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges for its food, meaning that it searches the ground for animal carcasses to eat.
Typically, these carcasses are what are left uneaten by other predators.
Vultures can be our allies in mitigating the spread of disease that can otherwise infect other animals, including livestock and humans.
These scavengers do the dirty work of cleaning up after death, helping to keep ecosystems healthy and prevent the spread of disease.
Vultures have an extremely corrosive stomach acid that allows them to consume rotting animal corpses.
These scavenged leftovers are often infected with anthrax, botulinum toxins and rabies that would otherwise kill other animals.
Therefore, when vultures consume carcasses, they keep diseases in check. They are a key factor in maintaining healthy ecosystems.
Because of their role as nature’s garbage disposers, vultures are able to keep the environment clean and free of contagious diseases.
Because vultures are attracted to carrion (dead animals), they have played an indirect role in helping authorities identify illegal poaching activity.

Conservation:

Conservation Breeding Centre at Pinjore, Haryana: The Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre was established at Pinjore, Haryana in September 2001 by BNHS in collaboration with the Haryana Forest Department.
Ramadevarabetta Vulture Sanctuary: The vulture sanctuary was officially set up in 2012, but the long-billed, Egyptian and white-backed vultures have been roosting in the hills of Ramanagara for several decades. These are the three species found in Ramanagara out of the nine found in India.

Science & Technology Miscellaneous

Environment Miscellaneous

Science & Technology Defence

36-million-year-old whale fossil found in Peruvian desert

Geography Physiography of India

The Artemis programme, NASA’s new moon mission

Science & Technology