Vultures in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve depending on cattle carcasses for food are at risk of poisoning: study

The study by a researcher from the Centre for Wildlife Studies, said the availability of Non-Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs near vulture nesting areas, and the birds’ dependence on cattle carcasses as food sources placed them at great risk; more action is needed for the protection of vulture species, he said

The dependence of vultures on cattle carcasses as food sources in the Sigur plateau, combined with the availability of harmful Non-Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDS) near vulture habitats, could put vulture populations in the region at risk from poisoning events, a recent study warns.

The study was conducted by S. Manigandan, a senior researcher from the Bengaluru-based non profit trust, Centre for Wildlife Studies, as part of a study, ‘Assessing accuracy of various vulture population estimation methods and prevalence of NSAIDs in Tamil Nadu part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve,’ between 2018 and 2021.

Local residents were asked about the number of cattle that had been lost due to predation and from natural causes over a 10-year period. The study indicated that out of around 3,349 cattle that had died over a decade, around 27 percent, or 929 cattle were lost due to predation by tigers, leopards and Asiatic wild dogs in the region. “Literature from earlier studies points to the presence of vultures in the buffer zone of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR), rather than in the core area, due to less canopy cover. However, due to the spread of invasive species such as Lantana camara and Eupatorium plants, such wide, open expansive areas for vultures has severely diminished,” said Mr. Manigandan, adding that vultures as well as predators in MTR have become increasingly dependent on the availability of cattle carcasses as food sources.

In the Nilgiris, parts of Coimbatore and Erode (Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve and Thengumarahada), four species of vultures: the White-rumped vulture, Long-billed vulture, Asian king vulture and Egyptian vulture are spotted frequently, with only the Egyptian vulture not known to be utilising the landscape over the last few decades for nesting.

During the study period, a total of 775 visits to pharmacies selling veterinary drugs were also made by researchers. Researchers noted that in areas where government veterinarians were being relied on to prescribe veterinary medicine, there were correspondingly fewer instances of the use of harmful NSAIDs such as diclofenac, which has been found to have caused the vulture population across India to plummet over the last few decades.

“While there is significant awareness among residents and pharmacists that the use of diclofenac is banned, there is unfortunately not the same amount of awareness towards the sale of other harmful NSAIDs such as nimesulide, flunixin and aceclofenac,” said Mr. Manigandan, adding that government veterinarians were found to be prescribing meloxican, a safer alternative to harmful NSAIDs.

“The continued sale of harmful NSAIDs in the region poses a serious risk to southern India’s largest vulture population. The increase in dependence of vultures on cattle carcasses, combined with the threat of such NSAIDs endanger the existing population of vultures. More needs to be done to spread awareness among pharmacists about the dangers of nimesulide, flunixin and aceclofenac, while compensation for cattle loss due to predation also needs to be released in a time-bound manner to prevent poisoning of carcasses,” said Mr. Manigandan.