Hyderabad: Vultures have an unfairly bad reputation. Associated with death and greed, many believe vultures to be cruel, dirty, and ugly creatures. The truth is that these incredible birds are the unsung heroes of the natural world. They are the only land-dwelling obligate scavengers, meaning that carrion is the cornerstone of their diet, and with this title comes some crucial ecological services, such as mitigating the spread of disease, protecting human and economic health, and slowing climate change.
International Vulture Awareness Day
The first Saturday in September each year is International Vulture Awareness Day. This day is intended to raise awareness around the most imperiled group of birds in the world all while celebrating their importance within our ecosystems.
The International Vulture Awareness Day began in South Africa and the United Kingdom. The first IVAD was observed in September 2009. The aim of International Vulture Awareness Day is for each participating organisation to carry out their own activities that highlight vulture conservation and awareness.
Why are vultures important to the ecosystem?
When vulture populations are doing well, all of us benefit. Vultures provide free ecosystem services, which are the contributions that ecosystems or wildlife make to human well-being.
Vultures are obligate scavengers that play a crucial role in maintaining ecosystem services such as nutrient recycling, removal of soil and water contaminants, and regulating the spread of diseases. Griffon vultures, for instance, consume large amounts of carrion derived from animal carcasses, supporting the transfer of energy through food webs. Their presence can help limit the transmission of diseases by controlling the populations of other facultative scavengers such as feral dogs.
Recent studies have shown that vultures provide an efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally beneficial carcass disposal service that is valued by livestock farmers. Their ability to rapidly consume livestock carcasses can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and economic costs arising from the collection and transport of carcasses to processing plants by vehicles.
Vultures also provide cultural and spiritual services dating back thousands of years, as well as recreational services in the form of ecotourism, particularly for bird-watchers and photographers. Viewing vultures in their natural habitat has significant potential value, and ecotourism around vulture breeding areas and feeding sites can provide important sources of local income.
The Cinereous Vulture is an important species for a number of reasons. This magnificent bird of prey plays a vital role in maintaining the ecological balance of its habitat and is also an indicator species for the health of its ecosystem.
Fascinating facts about Vultures
- Vultures are relatively silent as they lack a syrinx so they can only hiss, growl, and snarl
- They are predominantly scavengers but will occasionally kill small animals that are sick or dying. However, they will not eat a carcass that is more than a few days old as it become putrid
- Bald heads help radiate excess heat away from their bodies and keep rotting flesh from soiling feathers
- Vultures do not suffer from food poisoning because they have very acidic stomach acids with a pH of almost zero; these acids actually stop the spread of disease
- Their primary flying style is soaring which allows them to travel great distances expending very little energy
- A group of vultures is called a committee, venue or volt. In flight, a group of vultures is a kettle and when feeding at a carcass, the group is referred to as a wake
- To keep cool, vultures urinate on their legs and feet; this also kills bacteria or parasites and helps to keep the birds healthy
- Vultures are more closely related to storks than to any other bird of prey.
Vultures on the edge of extinction
Every vulture counts in Africa and Asia, where the birds are currently facing an uncertain future. There are 23 vulture species in the world, more than half listed on the IUCN's (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species as either Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered
11 of 16 African-Eurasian vulture species are at risk of extinction in our lifetimes.
Africa is home to 11 species of vulture, all but two of them listed on the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species as either Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered. Globally, Europe is the only continent currently where vulture populations are recovering and increasing, due to investment and the mitigation of threats. In India, for instance, vulture populations are stabilising, India banned the veterinary use of diclofenac drug in 2006, followed by Nepal and Pakistan. But populations in India remain at critically low levels. Nepal is now in a recovery phase for vultures.
Vulture census in India
The vulture population in seven tiger reserves and forest areas in Indian states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala has registered a remarkable increase from 246 in February 2023 to 308 in December, in a boost to the efforts to protect and increase the population of the critically endangered bird.
According to the data of Vulture survey, the Mudumalai-Sathyamangalam-Bandipur-Wayanad complex of the NBR accounted for over 82% of the vultures recorded during the survey. The highest number was recorded in the Mudumalai and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserves in Tamil Nadu.
A total of 217 critically endangered white-rumped vultures (Gyps bengalensis), 47 long-billed vultures (Gyps indicus), 50 Asian king vultures (Sarcogyps calvus), four endangered Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) and two “near threatened” Himalayan griffon vultures (Gyps himalayensis) were recorded during the survey. The four Egyptian vultures and two Himalayan griffon vultures were sighted in the Nellai Forest Division and the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.
Vulture Count 2024 in India
WWF-India (World Wide Fund for Nature-India), in collaboration with Bird Count India and eBird, has announce the launch of Vulture Count 2024, a crucial citizen-science initiative aimed at monitoring and conserving India’s vulture populations. Scheduled from 7th September to 6th October 2024, the count will coincide with International Vulture Awareness Day.
Vulture Count 2024 aims to address this crisis by systematically monitoring vulture populations. Gathering comprehensive baseline data will help track population trends, identify critical habitats, and assess the impact of environmental changes. This information will be vital for developing targeted conservation strategies and policies, and for raising public awareness and support for vulture conservation.
