Poisoning, veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), food scarcity, and habitat loss continue to remain survival challenges for vultures in India.
The authors of the study are Javed Anver, Yash Vardhan Singh Sengar, Bikash Ghimire, Vonchano Ngullie, Hemam Rama Nanda, Tashi P. Dorji, Ankit Sharma, Akshay Jain, Sas Biswas, Arun Kumar, and M. Muzahed. Other raptor species, including the black kite ( Milvus migrans ) and crested serpent eagle ( Spilornis cheela ), were also recorded at the relocated site.
Vultures are among the most threatened birds globally, having undergone severe population declines across Asia and Africa due to multiple anthropogenic pressures. A decade-old study, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Threatened Taxa , suggests that relocating a livestock carcass dump 2.4 km away from high-tension power infrastructure near Uttarakhand’s Dehradun may have saved these large scavengers from another existential threat—electrocution. The study documented electrocution mortality of vultures in the Sudhauwala region of Dehradun, based on 34 surveys conducted between May 2011 and February 2014. The study recorded 743 individual vultures belonging to five species. “During the study period, 46 vulture carcasses attributable to electrocution were documented in proximity to high-tension power transmission structures.
Electrocution from power infrastructure has been the most underreported threat, according to the study. The highest proportion of mortality relative to observations was recorded for the Himalayan griffon ( Gyps himalayensis ), followed by the Eurasian griffon ( Gyps fulvus ), and the cinereous vulture ( Aegypius monachus ),” the study said. “Our findings indicated that relocating carcass dumping sites away from hazardous power infrastructure can be a practical conservation measure for reducing electrocution risk and could potentially be applied in other affected areas,” Mr. Anver of the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India told The Hindu .
