DWINDLING VULTURE POPULATION COULD HARM HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT

By Vijian Paramasivam

PHNOM PENH, April 13 (Bernama) -- The often-shunned vultures play a crucial role in disease prevention and ecological cleanup, but their declining population could impact the environment, caution conservationists.

Vultures do not live glamorous lives. Historically, they have been tainted with a negative reputation – labelled as harbingers of death in some cultures and even described as lowly scavenging birds.

Conservationists today, armed with the latest data and research, strongly advocate for these birds, asserting that they play a vital role in the planet’s ecosystem.

Chris Bowden, advisor to SAVE (Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction), a non-governmental organisation for vulture conservation, says South Asia and Southeast Asia were once hotbeds for vultures. But thousands, or even millions, have been decimated over the decades.

“Vultures have important ecosystem services that they provide. With thousands of the vultures here, tonnes of millions of rotting meat were consumed by vultures,” he told Bernama in an interview from his office in Bangalore, southern India. 

These long-necked, stern-looking birds roam rural fields in search of food and remain the custodians of nature – cleaning up what others cannot and playing a critical role in sustaining biodiversity.

India is central to the vulture population, home to nine species found in the region – the Himalayan Vulture, Indian Vulture, Slender-billed Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, Red-headed Vulture, White-rumped Vulture, Griffon Vulture, Cinereous Vulture, and the Bearded Vulture.

In Southeast Asia, a 2022 census recorded 134 vultures in Cambodia – 71 Gray Vultures, 44 Brown Vultures and 19 Fire Vultures.

The White-rumped Vulture, Slender-billed Vulture, and Red-headed Vulture are native to Cambodia and found in the north and north-eastern parts of the country. All three are considered critically endangered species. 

The Cambodia Vulture Action Plan 2016 to 2025 reported: “The populations of all three species have been declining throughout their range during the 20th century and have been at an extremely low level in Cambodia for more than 15 years.”

Vultures are beneficial to human health because they help dispose of carrion, thereby preventing the spread of diseases such as anthrax and rabies, which can affect both wildlife and humans, according to conservationists.

Ironically, they are a dwindling species, like many other endangered birds in recent decades.

The scavenging birds are also suffering from habitat loss, victims of poison baits used to kill other animals, carcass shortages, destruction of nesting trees, and the dangers posed by power transmission lines. 

These birds are also falling victim to pharmaceutical poisoning – particularly from diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug commonly used to treat pain and inflammation in cattle, according to experts.

Bowden stressed that vultures are keystone species and that their population should be restored to benefit the ecology and human safety.

“Thousands of carcasses were eaten by vultures, which otherwise would have been left to rot. There is an economic impact as well to dispose of the carcasses. They have to be either buried or incinerated.

“They are very effective because each vulture can consume two and a half kilogrammes of meat in one go.

“This reduces evidence of disease transmission as well. The biggest disease (threat) is rabies due to the increase in feral dogs. Feral dogs are the main vectors for rabies,” said Bowden.

In the rugged terrains of remote mountains, vultures traverse the landscape, leading a sorrowful life marked by food scarcity, threats to their existence, and an untold story of their contribution to the ecosystem.

- - BERNAMA