Status of Vultures in India Dr. Vibhu Prakash Principal Scientist, Head, Vulture Conservation Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai Email: vibhu.mathur@gmail.com
Vultures are obligate scavengers
Vultures recorded from the Indian Sub-Continent King Vulture Sarcogyps calvus Cinereous Vulture Aegypius monachus White-backed Vulture Gyps bengalensis Long-billed Vulture G. indicus Slender-billed Vulture G. tenuirostris Eurasian Griffon Vulture G. fulvus Himalayan Griffon G. himalayensis Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus
Gyps Vultures Resident White-backed Vulture Long-billed Vulture Slender-billed Vulture Wintering Himalayan Griffon Eurasian Griffon
Adult White-backed vulture in flight Distribution of White-backed Vulture Adult White-backed vulture in flight An Adult White-backed vulture A juvenile White-backed vulture
Distribution of Long-billed Vulture Long-billed vultures are cliff nesters Juvenile Long-billed vultures at the centre
Distribution of Slender-billed Vulture in India An adult Slender-billed vulture
Vultures in the Eighties Vultures in Timarpur, Heart of Delhi city
25000 20000 Crash in resident Gyps vultures population in India: 1992-2007 (Based on road transect data) 15000 Av. Annual Rate of Decline for WBV = 43.9% for LBV = 16.1% 10000 5000 The Crash in Population: by 99.9% WBV by 97% LBV & SBV White-backed Long-billed 0 1992 2000 2002 2003 2007 Prakash et. al. 2007
Major Cause of Mortality in Vultures Visceral Gout in Vulture: Deposition of uric acid on visceral organs due to renal failure
Diclofenac implicated in vulture declines (Oaks et al. 2004) Perfect correlation between visceral gout and diclofenac residue in the vulture tissue (0.051-0.643ug/gm) in Pakistan Experimentally visceral gout were reproduced in vultures by direct oral exposure of buffalo tissues treated with diclofenac.
Indian Scenario Postmortem examination revealed 76% of dead vultures had visceral gout Perfect correlation between visceral gout and diclofenac residue in the vulture tissues (0.003-0.48ug/gm) (Shultz et al., 2004).
Association of gout and diclofenac residues: Vulture carcasses in Pakistan, India and Nepal Gout No gout 39 0 0 17 Oaks et al. (2004) Nature 427; Shultz et al. (2004) Proc Roy Soc B Suppl. 271
Diclofenac-the killer drug Vultures are exposed to diclofenac when they feed on carcasses of livestock that have died within a few days of administration of the drug (Oaks et al., 2004)
Diclofenac toxicity to Gyps vultures Diclofenac is 30-60 times more toxic to vultures than cyanide is to rats The LD 50 (the median lethal dose) for a vulture is 0.5-1.1 mg Acute toxicity: 24-48 hours to mortality, single dose required
Prevalence of diclofenac Green et al. (2004) estimated that no more than 0.8% of ungulate carcasses available to foraging vultures would need to contain a lethal dose of diclofenac to have caused the observed population declines
Facts About Resident Gyps Vulture Populations Three species of vultures, White-backed, Longbilled and Slender-billed are on the verge of extinction Population has crashed by over 99%(from 4 crores to less than 1 Lakh) Veterinary drug diclofenac has been found to be the major cause of crash in population
Conservation Measures to Save Vultures from Extinction
Recovery Plan workshop held at Himachal Pradesh 12 to 14 February 2004
2006
Key Actions Identified in the Vulture Action Plan Identify a safe alternative drug Campaign and advocacy to remove (ban) veterinary diclofenac Conservation breeding programme
Vulture treated Alternative to Diclofenac? 25 20 15 10 5 0 Use Non steriodal anti inflammatory drug(nsaid) on vultures survey in various Zoos across the Globe Number Died w/kidney Failure Number that didn't die NSAID
Identifying a safe alternative drug at VCBC, Pinjore Meloxicam proved to be saf
Ban on Veterinary use of diclofenac
Problem Continues 2008:The Ban was notified in the Official Gazette But it soon became clear that the problem had not been eradicated and vulture deaths were continuing Human formulations were now being used
Warning on Multi-dose Vials for human use
Monitoring Prevalence of the drug diclofenac
Diclofenac contamination in India Diclofenac in 10.1% of carcasses in 2005 Diclofenac in 11.1% of carcasses in 2006 Diclofenac in 6 % of carcasses in 2011 Taggart MA et al. (2007) & unpublished data Diclofenac residues in carcasses of domestic ungulates available to vultures in India. Environ Int
Pharmacy surveys for NSAIDS
Pharmacy surveys Key results 12 different NSAIDs for sale meloxicam, diclofenac, (aceclofenac), analgin, (flunixin), ibuprofen, ketoprofen, (mefenamic acid), nimelsulide, [paracetamol], phenyl butazone, piroxicam Combinations of NSAIDs for sale Most frequent: nimelsulide + paracetamol (76%) meloxicam + paracetamol (50%) diclofenac + paracetamol (14%)
Pharmacy surveys Meloxicam most common NSAID in shops (70%) nimesulide (48%), analgin (47%), diclofenac (36%)
Large Presentations 10 ml, 30 ml vials of Human Formulations of DICLOFENAC are a problem Typical dose for Humans: 3mL and for Cattle 10-15 ml
Small Size presentation of 3 ml ampoules could minimize the use in animals
The Situation 2013 Veterinary diclofenac formulations not available Improved availability of meloxicam-the safe alternative drug 130 companies India Human diclofenac formulations now being used by people treating livestock Ketoprofen (& other NSAIDs not safety-tested) availability has increased in certain states
Vultures Continue to Die
Conservation Breeding Programme Conservation Breeding Programme Can only Save the Vultures from Extinction
Number of Vultures for Conservation Breeding Programme A population of 600 pairs of each of the three species will form a viable population 25 pairs of each of the three species at one centre will be able to produce a population of 100 pairs of each of the species in the fifteen years Six centres need to be set up to produce 600 pairs
LOCATIONS OF THE VULTURE CONSERVATION BREEDING CENTRES Junagarh, Gujarat Pinjore, Haryana INDIA Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Ranchi, Jharkhand Nandankanan, Orissa Raja Bhat Khawa, West Bengal Rani, Assam Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh None in Western India
CZA Supported Vulture Conservation Breeding Facilities Junagarh, Gujarat Nandankanan, Odisa Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
Vulture Conservation Breeding Centres managed by BNHS in collaboration with state Governments Pinjore, Haryana established in 2004 Rajabhatkhawa, West Bengal established in 2006 Rani, Assam. Established in 2008
Vultures for the Conservation Breeding Programme Total Number 190 86 47 Whitebacked Longbilled Slenderbilled Min. Num. Required for Prog. 300 300 300
Protocols for Housing Coir rope wounded perches Colony Aviary Nest Ledge Ledges to rest and breed
Birds kept in near natural conditions
Protocols for Husbandry and Care have been Developed and Tested over 11 Years Wing-Tag Micro-chipping Ringing Morphometrics
Feeding the Vultures Average food given is equivalent to 5% of the body weight per day i.e. about 3-4 kg a week Entire skinned carcasses of goat or buffalos are given after removing the gut contents The animals are kept under a week s observation before slaughtering
Nesting at the centres Nest building Copulation Incubation Change over
Breeding of White-backed vultures at the centres 28 nestlings have fledged so far at the centres The first hatching took place during 2007-2008 at Pinjore First ever hatching of White-backed artificially in incubator took place during 2009-2010
Breeding of Slender-billed Vulture at the centres 9 nestlings have fledged at the centres The first time ever hatching in captivity took place in during 2008-2009 at Rajabhatkhawa and Pinjore The first time ever hatching in incubator took place in 2012
Breeding of Long-billed Vulture 20 nestlings have fledged at the centres till now The hatching for the first time ever in incubator took during 2009-2010 The hatching on the nest by the parents took place in the year 2010-2011
Double Clutching and Artificial Incubation for increasing Productivity The first clutch is removed for artificial incubation The pair lays second egg within three weeks Possible to double the productivity.
Reintroduction Plans for Vultures The vultures start breeding when 5-6 years old The first release will take place 8-9 years from beginning of the project. The releases are expected to start from 2016. Birds will be released in flocks of not less than fifteen including at least a few adults and subadults after making sure that diclofenac has been removed from the system
Creating Vulture Safe Zones to focus efforts VSZ focus awareness and conservation activities to establish diclofenac free areas of 100 km radius Aim is to protect remaining in-situ populations and release sites for captive bred birds until diclofenac is removed nationally Seven provisional VSZ in India
Release program for Vultures The released sites (Vulture Safe Zones) will be monitored at least for two year to make sure the drug diclofenac is not in the system, food and habitat is available in plenty and there is no other obvious threat to vultures Soft Release will be attempted Birds will be kept in aviary for a period at the release site. The roof will be opened and birds would have the option of flying out Food will be provisioned first in the aviary and then outside and gradually away from the aviary Food provisioning will stop once they find natural carcasses All the birds will have satellite tags before they are released
Acknowledgements Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, U.K. Darwin Initiative for the Survival of Species, U.K. International Centre for Birds of Prey, U.K. Zoological Society of London, U.K. Indian Veterinary Research Institute Wildlife Institute of India Forest Departments of U. P, U.T, Haryana, West Bengal, Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pr., Odisa, Andhra Pr.,Jharkhand
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