Vanishing Vultures

The number of vultures in Pune is decreasing at alarming rate. The news appears every now and then. But the changing lifestyle and fast pace of life seems to have become a bane for the birds. According to an estimate, only 100-odd vultures are left in the Pune district, which was a fertile ground for the bird till some years ago.

Forest department in Pune used to study the problem of vanishing Vultures till some year ago. It seems the reason why so many vultures died in the district was the excessive use of painkillers for animals. When a vulture eats a dead animal injected with anti-inflammatory drug, it accumulates uric acid leading to kidney failure. Especially drugs like diclofenac were always deemed for a ban.
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Several explanations are given for disappearance of of vultures. One prominent reason given is rapid habitation and urbanisation. Centre of Science and Environment (CSE) cites the rampant use of pesticides in farming and DDT, aldrin and dieldrin as a major factor leading to vulture deaths.

Just two decades ago, there were 85 million vultures in the country. They are now estimated to number just a paltry 3000 to 4000. It is said that Pune had about 450 vulture in the past. Now it is said that only 12 of them have left. One of them can be seen in the Rajiv Gandhi zoo at Katraj.

The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) had in 2003 requested the state forest department to initiate a project to count the population of endangered vultures in Maharashtra.Scientists observed that the population of stray dogs was rapidly substituting vultures as primary scavengers along the transects, highways and garbage dumps. The six species of vultures commonly found in Maharashtra are Black (or King), Cineverous, Indian Griffon, Indian Longbilled, Whitebacked vulture and the White Scavenger vulture.