To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: Vulture.
Journal articles on the topic 'Vulture'
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the top 50 journal articles for your research on the topic 'Vulture.'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Browse journal articles on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.
1
DURIEZ, OLIVIER, SANDRINE DESCAVES, REGIS GALLAIS, RAPHAËL NEOUZE, JULIE FLUHR, and FREDERIC DECANTE. "Vultures attacking livestock: a problem of vulture behavioural change or farmers’ perception?" Bird Conservation International 29, no. 03 (April 12, 2019): 437–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270918000345.
Full textAbstract:
SummaryHuman-wildlife conflicts are often partly due to biased human perceptions about the real damage caused by wildlife. While Griffon Vultures Gyps fulvus are obligate scavengers, 156 complaint reports about vultures attacking livestock were officially recorded over eight years (2007–2014) in France. We investigated whether this conflict could be explained by a change in vulture behaviour, or by a biased perception by farmers. If vultures became predators, as a consequence of density-dependent processes, we predicted that reports would concern mostly ante-mortem consumption of healthy livestock and would be temporally and spatially correlated to vulture population size and space use. Under the hypothesis of perception bias of farmers, we predicted that reports would concern mostly post-mortem consumption, and would be more numerous in areas where farmers are less familiar with vultures and where herds are less attended by shepherds. The spatio-temporal distribution of reports was not correlated with the vulture’s population trend and was not centred on the core area of vulture home range. In 67% of reports, vultures consumed post-mortem an animal that had died for other reasons. In 18% of reports, vultures consumed ante-mortem an animal that was immobile and close to death before vulture arrival. The fact that 90% of complaining farmers did not own vulture supplementary feeding stations and that 40% of these farms were located outside protected areas (where most education programmes take place) suggests that most farmers had little familiarity or personal knowledge of vultures. There was no shepherd witness present in 95% of the reports. Therefore, the hypothesis of a perception bias due to lack of knowledge was most likely to explain this vulture-livestock conflict rather than the hypothesis of a recent change in vulture feeding behaviour. Environmental education should be better included in conservation programmes and enhanced in areas where vultures are expanding to recolonise their former distribution range.
2
JHA, Kaushalendra K., Michael O. CAMPBELL, and Radhika JHA. "Vultures, their population status and some ecological aspects in an Indian stronghold." Notulae Scientia Biologicae 12, no. 1 (March 31, 2020): 124–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.15835/nsb12110547.
Full textAbstract:
Indian vultures have important ecological and socio-economic functions and are increasingly studied, per their ecological role and recently, their catastrophic populations’ decline. However, there are few studies of vultures in central India, a vulture stronghold. The present paper examined the presence, distribution per landcover variation, roosting and nesting habits of vultures in this region. Both quantitative (total count) and qualitative (questionnaire survey) methods of research were applied. The hypotheses were that vulture presence is higher in forested areas, unaffected by agricultural development (excepting the Egyptian vulture); as well as that vultures are more likely to roost and nest in large trees and on cliffs in open landcover. Vulture species recorded in summer and winter counts were the Long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus, Scopoli, 1786), Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus, Linnaeus, 1758), White-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis, Gmelin, 1788), Eurasian Griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus, Hablizl, 1783), Red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus, Scopoli, 1786), Cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus, Linnaeus, 1766) and Himalayan Griffon vulture (Gyps himalayensis, Hume, 1869). Their average total abundance was of 7,028 individuals, maximum being Long-billed vulture (3,351) and minimum being Cinereous vulture (39). Thematic maps documented distributions in different agroclimatic regions and ecozones. Orography and forest structure influenced vulture presence, but human disturbance did not. Vulture protection, food monitoring and human-induced disturbances are manageable with critical, informed and flexible policies. These findings contribute to monitoring and management planning for vulture conservation in Central India and elsewhere.
3
Karimov, T., and A. Mammadov. "The Status of Vultures Neophron Percnopterus, Gypaetus Barbatus, Gyps Fulvus, Aegypius Monachus (Accipitriformes) in Azerbaijan." Ukrainian Journal of Ecology 9, no. 4 (December 10, 2019): 565–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.15421/2019_791.
Full textAbstract:
The inventory of vultures was conducted in 2004–2016. Modern areal and nesting places of Griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), Black vulture (Aegypius monachus), Egyptian vulture, (Neophron percnopterus) and Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) in Azerbaijan was determined. Our results reveals that 60.6% (n=20) of nesting locations were found in Lesser Caucasus, 36.3% (n=12) in Great Caucasus, 3.0% (n=1) in Talysh mountains. Over the last 13 years the total known population of these species decreased by 15.3%. Primary reason of this decline is the abandonment of livestock farms and graze lands, accompanied by the expansion of cultivated areas (P = 0.0001) since large domestic ruminants are important source of food for Griffon vultures,. The other important threats to these species were identified as nestling removal, capture and trade of wild birds for exhibiting them in zoological gardens and roadside restaurants, destructing the nests of Black vultures, ecotourism and recreation has impacted on the decrease in the number of Griffon vultures (P =0.0001). In 2016, 61 pairs of Griffon vulture, 59 pairs of Egyptian vulture, 16 pairs of Black vulture, 9 pairs of Bearded vulture were recorded in the territories of Azerbaijan.
4
Navaneethan, Balasubramaniam, Kalyanasundaram Sankar, Qamar Qureshi, and Manas Manjrekar. "The status of vultures in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, central India." Journal of Threatened Taxa 7, no. 14 (November 26, 2015): 8134. http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.2428.7.14.8134-8138.
Full textAbstract:
<p>The study on the status of vultures in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BRT), central India was carried out from January 2011 to March 2013 in different seasons using opportunistic sightings. In total, 265 observations were made in which 1,366 individuals belonging to four species were recorded. Among these, Long-billed Vulture <em>Gyps indicus</em> were more frequently sighted followed by White-backed Vulture <em>Gyps africanus</em>, Red-headed Vulture or Asian King Vulture <em>Sarcogyps calvus</em> and Egyptian Vulture <em>Neophron percnopterus</em>. During the study period, 27 vulture nests were identified, of these 25 nests belonged to Long-billed Vulture and two nests were that os White-backed Vulture. No attempts were made to examine the nesting site characteristics and the breeding status of vulture in BTR. Vultures were largely observed feeding on carnivore kills such as chital, sambar, nilgai, wild pig, domestic cattle and common langur. On a few occasions vultures were seen feeding on the dumped cattle carcasses near villages. The study reveals that vulture population in BTR was mainly dependent on large carnivore kills. Regular monitoring of vulture nest sites in the study area is recommended to assess their breeding success. Since we observed the vultures feeding on dumped livestock carcasss near villages, use of Diclofenac in the villages around the park should be monitored as it has caused a large-scale mortality in vultures in different regions of the country. </p><div> </div>
5
GILBERT, MARTIN, RICHARD T. WATSON, SHAKEEL AHMED, MUHAMMAD ASIM, and JEFF A. JOHNSON. "Vulture restaurants and their role in reducing diclofenac exposure in Asian vultures." Bird Conservation International 17, no. 1 (March 2007): 63–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270906000621.
Full textAbstract:
The provision of supplementary food at vulture restaurants is a well-established tool in the conservation of vulture species. Among their many applications, vulture restaurants are used to provide a safe food source in areas where carcasses are commonly baited with poisons. Rapid and extensive declines of vultures in the Indian subcontinent have been attributed to the toxic effects of diclofenac, a pharmaceutical used in the treatment of livestock, to which vultures are exposed while feeding on the carcasses of treated animals. A vulture restaurant was established at the Oriental White-backed Vulture Gyps bengalensis colony at Toawala, in Punjab province Pakistan, to test the effectiveness of the technique in modifying ranging behaviour and mortality at the colony. Six male vultures were fitted with satellite transmitters to describe variation in movement and home-range during periods when safe food was alternately available and withheld at the vulture restaurant. There was considerable variation in individual home-range size (minimum convex polygons, MCP, of 1,824 km2 to 68,930 km2), with birds occupying smaller home-ranges centred closer to the restaurant being more successful in locating the reliable source of food. Fixes showed that 3 of the tagged vultures fed at the vulture restaurant and the home-range of each bird declined following their initial visit, with a 23–59% reduction in MCP. Mean daily mortality during provisioning was 0.072 birds per day (8 birds in 111 days), compared with 0.387 birds per day (41 birds in 106 days) during non-provisioning control periods. Vultures tended to occupy greater home-ranges, cover greater distances each day and spend proportionately more time in the air during the late brooding and post-breeding seasons. Attendance at the vulture restaurant also declined during this period with fewer birds visiting less often and no tagged vultures visiting the vulture restaurant at all. These findings indicate that vulture restaurants can reduce, but not eliminate, vulture mortality through diclofenac exposure and represent a valuable interim measure in slowing vulture population decline locally until diclofenac can be withdrawn from veterinary use.
6
HLA, HTIN, NAY MYO SHWE, THURA WIN HTUN, SAO MYO ZAW, SIMON MAHOOD, JONATHAN C. EAMES, and JOHN D. PILGRIM. "Historical and current status of vultures in Myanmar." Bird Conservation International 21, no. 4 (January 5, 2011): 376–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270910000560.
Full textAbstract:
SummaryConcerns for the long-term survival of vulture populations on the Indian Subcontinent, owing to widespread poisoning by the veterinary drug diclofenac, have led to increased conservation focus on South-East Asian countries where diclofenac is not used and relict populations of vultures occur. We document here how White-rumped, Slender-billed and Red-headed Vultures have declined substantially in abundance and contracted in range in Myanmar over the last 50 years. Using a vulture restaurant method we determined that the population of vultures in Myanmar is at least 136 individuals, made up of at least: 62 White-rumped Vultures, 21 Slender-billed Vultures, 51 Himalayan Vultures and two Red-headed Vultures. The decline in the resident Gyps species is most likely due to declines in wild ungulate populations. Our population estimates are provisional and the survey covered only a proportion of the possible vulture range within Myanmar. Himalayan Vultures were not recorded in Myanmar in historical times, and possible reasons for the recent upsurge in records are discussed. Myanmar presents an opportunity of global significance for vulture conservation, due to the persistence of three Critically Endangered vulture species in a country where diclofenac is not used.
7
Grussu, Marcello, and Sardinian Ornithological Group. "Evolution of the vulture population on a Mediterranean island. The Sardinian instance (Italy)." Vulture News 76 (July 10, 2020): 6–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/vulnew.v76i1.2.
Full textAbstract:
On the Italian island of Sardinia at the beginning of the 20th century there was still an established population of the Bearded Vulture (about 35 pairs), Black Vulture (about 150 pairs) and the Griffon Vulture was “very common”. However, in the early decades of the 20th century there was a rapid and catastrophic reduction of the vulture populations on Sardinia, with the extinction of Bearded Vulture (1968-69) and the Black Vulture (1961), and the contraction of the population of Griffon Vulture (1000-1400 birds in 1945 to 100-140 birds in 1975 and 12 breeding pairs in 2007). The collection of skins and eggs, followed by hunting, poaching, killing and the use of poisoned baits for pest control were the main causes of the decline of the vultures on Sardinia. These causes were accompanied by an increase of disturbance at the breeding sites, and by a gradual decrease of pastoralism, which has led to a reduction in food availability. More recently, there have been unsuccessful attempts to reintroduce Bearded Vultures and Black Vultures, whereas after various restocking and greater protection projects, the Griffon Vulture population has increased (to 57 pairs and 230-250 birds in 2019). The Egyptian Vulture bred in Sardinia for the first time in 2019. Currently, collection and killing of vultures, and the legal use of poisoned baits have all been removed in Sardinia and the environmental situation now seems appropriate for new attempts to reintroduce the two extinct species.
8
Phuyal, Sunita, Hemant R. Ghimire, Karan B. Shah, and Hem S. Baral. "Vultures and people: Local perceptions of a low-density vulture population in the eastern mid-hills of Nepal." Journal of Threatened Taxa 8, no. 14 (December 26, 2016): 9597. http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.2492.8.14.9597-9609.
Full textAbstract:
The cause for rapid decline of the South Asian vulture population in 1990s was unknown for many years until diclofenac was proved to be the main reason for such decline in 2004. The vulture populations from Nepal has also undergone rapid decline that causes low awareness among people about its ecological importance. For declining species that have large range and are mostly associated with humans, people’s attitudes can have direct effects on their survival because of the multiple linkages and potential for both positive and negative impacts of human behaviour for these large scavengers. However, little is known about vultures in the eastern mid-hills of Nepal. Therefore, we conducted a study in Ramechhap, a district in the eastern mid-hills of Nepal, to assess the vultures’ status and human relations using transect and questionnaire surveys respectively. Himalayan Griffons Gyps himalayensis and Egyptian Vultures Neophron percnopterus were found in the area, and the majority of respondents interviewed had a positive attitude towards vultures (58.8%) and their conservation (47.3%). Although neglected in previous studies, a neutral attitude (20% towards vultures and 15.8% towards vulture conservation) can be significant (largely related to ignorance) and can be readily turned to negative due to the vulture’s carcass consuming behaviour and lack of conventional appeal to many people, with implications for the success of a conservation programme. In our study, carcass scarcity appeared to be an increasing concern with about 90% of the respondents reporting burying cattle carcasses, and that this practice has recently increased. In the course of the study period, however, two (unburied) carcasses were observed. Our study found that nimesulide, a potentially toxic NSAID for vultures, was used for veterinary purpose in the study area, which could be a serious threat to vultures. Other human activities such as carcass poisoning pose threats to vultures in the study area. Therefore, for long term vulture conservation, local attitudes and behaviour should be considered along with ecological aspects of vultures.
9
Venkitachalam, R., and S. Senthilnathan. "Status and population of vultures in Moyar Valley, southern India." Journal of Threatened Taxa 8, no. 1 (January 26, 2016): 8358. http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.2522.8.1.8358-8364.
Full textAbstract:
<p>Four species of vultures were surveyed using road transects in two parts of the Moyar Valley, three of these are Critically Endangered by IUCN criteria and one is Endangered. The vulture study was done for the first time in Nilgiri North Forest Division and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve of Moyar Valley to determine the flock size in the three species of vultures and also to get a rough estimation of vultures. The results show higher flock size and higher densities in Nilgiri North Forest Division than in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve and the most numerous of these was the White-rumped Vulture. There is also evidence of seasonal movements in Nilgiri North Forest Division. These data represent the first systematic survey results from the area and demonstrate the significance of the Moyar Valley for all four Endangered vulture species, probably the main stronghold remaining in southern India. They are White-rumped Vulture <em>Gyps bengalensis</em>, Indian Vulture <em>Gyps indicus</em>, Red-headed Vulture <em>Sarcogyps calvus</em> and Egyptian Vulture <em>Neophron percnopterus</em>. The study recommends that immediate long-term conservation efforts should be taken to save the Critically Endangered vultures in the Moyar Valley.</p><div> </div>
10
HILLE, SABINE M., FRÄNZI KORNER-NIEVERGELT, MAARTEN BLEEKER, and NIGEL J. COLLAR. "Foraging behaviour at carcasses in an Asian vulture assemblage: towards a good restaurant guide." Bird Conservation International 26, no. 3 (December 11, 2015): 263–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270915000349.
Full textAbstract:
SummaryVulture populations are declining steeply worldwide. Vulture ‘restaurants’ or feeding stations are a tool for maintaining and monitoring numbers, but individual species may be disadvantaged by the effects of carcass distribution, carcass size and interspecific aggression. To test the degree to which restaurants give opportunities for each species to access the food provided, we studied behaviour and morphology in three Critically Endangered species of vulture in Cambodia: the gregariously breeding and feeding White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis and Slender-billed Vulture G. tenuirostris, and the solitary Red-headed Vulture Sarcogyps calvus. We video-recorded attendance time, attendance order and dominance behaviour at different-sized carcasses. Interspecific aggression at carcasses was least frequently shown by the ‘small’ White-rumped Vulture. The relatively ‘large’ Slender-billed and ‘medium’ Red-headed Vultures showed aggression more regularly and at similar levels. However, the latter avoids conflict by waiting until Gyps vultures are no longer crowding at the carcass, although its arrival at carcasses was correlated with total number of vultures present. While more numerous than Red-headed, the two Gyps vultures are more dependent on large carcasses, which increases their vulnerability to further declines in wild large ungulate species. Body size, number of individuals, hunger levels and carcass size and availability all influence carcass attendance behaviour. An increase in the number and spatial distribution of restaurants as well as of carcass size range could boost numbers of all vulture species.
11
Samson, Arockianathan, and Balasundaram Ramakrishnan. "The Critically Endangered White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis in Sigur Plateau, Western Ghats, India: Population, breeding ecology, and threats." Journal of Threatened Taxa 12, no. 13 (September 26, 2020): 16752–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.3034.12.13.16752-16763.
Full textAbstract:
The present study aimed to assess the population status, breeding ecology, and conservation threats of Critically Endangered White-rumped Vulture in Sigur Plateau, Tamil Nadu, India from June 2011 to May 2012. The population of White-rumped vulture was estimated in the roosting and nesting sites twice in a month. Nesting colonies were systematically visited four times in a month during the breeding season to study nesting and breeding ecology. Carcasses and vulture counting was done by opportunistic count method. Two sets of questionnaires namely ‘precise and closed’ and ‘broad and open-ended’ were developed to asses the people’s perception on vulture conservation. The overall population of White-rumped Vultures was estimated about 70 to 115 individuals. In total, 68 nests were observed in two nesting colonies. Most of the nests (97%) were recorded on Terminalia arjuna and only 3% on Spondias mangifera. Among the 68 constructed nests, 34 were incubated and 30 chicks were fledged out from the nests with 88% breeding success. Feeding behavior was observed from 28 carcasses, Vultures were attended only 15 caracasses an average of 56.04±3.29 individuals of vultures were recorded. Interestingly, Elephant (61.8±5.1) and Indian Gaur (58.5±0.3) carcasses were attracted in greater numbers of vultures in susiquent days (3.5±0.2) than other carcasses. People’s attitude to vulture conservation was positive and useful in 90.82% of the cases (n=99). Cattle carcass disposal method favored to vultures in these regions. The Sigur Plateau to be declared as “Vulture Sanctuary” in order to legally protect and conserve the country’s southern-most wild and viable Critically Endangered White-rumped Vulture population in the landscape.
12
Owolabi, Bibitayo Ayobami, Sunday Olayinka Odewumi, and Ebenezer Abayomi Agbelusi. "Perceptions on population decline and ethno-cultural knowledge of Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) in southwest States of Nigeria." Vulture News 78 (February 9, 2021): 11–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/vulnew.v78i1.2.
Full textAbstract:
The global decline of many vulture populations due to anthropogenic activities is increasing and is largely connected to cases of poisoning. The objectives of this study were to access local perceptions and knowledge of vulture declines, and to determine the ethno-cultural uses of vulture body parts across southwest Nigeria. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered through interviews with randomly selected respondents (n = 144) between August 2018 and July 2019. Results showed that 82.5% (n = 119) of respondents confirmed the sharp decline in vulture populations. 79.8% (n = 115) of respondents considered poisoning to be the cause of vulture deaths in the study area and 79.8% (n = 117) confirmed the need to conserve the remaining vultures. 80.5% (n = 116) of respondents reported that vultures play a key role in Yoruba traditional settings. Vulture parts (organs) were reported as being important in ethno-cultural traditional benefits ranging from curing ailments, to making financial fortune to enhancing dreams, having visions about the future, healing and magic use. Conservation education and public awareness to shift the public mindset away from the use of vultures for rituals and healing purposes and the resultant negative effect of extirpation and extinction is the only way forward.
13
PFEIFFER, MORGAN B., JAN A. VENTER, and COLLEEN T. DOWNS. "Identifying anthropogenic threats to Cape Vultures Gyps coprotheres using community perceptions in communal farmland, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa." Bird Conservation International 25, no. 3 (August 22, 2014): 353–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270914000148.
Full textAbstract:
SummaryDeclines in Old World vulture populations have been linked to anthropogenic pressures. To assess these threats, the social dimensions of vulture conservation must be explored. Prior research in Africa focused on commercial farmers’ perceptions of vultures and identified that small stock farmers used poison more than large stock farmers to deter livestock predators. However, the vulnerable Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres breeds throughout communal farmland in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Consequently, community interviews were conducted within the foraging range of the Msikaba Cape Vulture colony, separating regions according to the amount of transformed land. Residents in the least transformed land region perceived the smallest reductions in livestock ownership over the past ten years, while residents of the moderately transformed region perceived the greatest reductions in livestock ownership. Livestock carcasses were reported to be available for vultures at ‘informal vulture restaurants’. Arrangement of livestock carcasses was found to be independent of land use; however type of carcass consumed varied. None of the respondents stated they used poison to eliminate livestock predators. More respondents cited illegal poaching of vultures for traditional medicine as a threat, although the majority stated that vultures benefited the community.
14
Jackson, Andrew L., Graeme D. Ruxton, and David C. Houston. "The effect of social facilitation on foraging success in vultures: a modelling study." Biology Letters 4, no. 3 (March 25, 2008): 311–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2008.0038.
Full textAbstract:
The status of many Gyps vulture populations are of acute conservation concern as several show marked and rapid decline. Vultures rely heavily on cues from conspecifics to locate carcasses via local enhancement. A simulation model is developed to explore the roles vulture and carcass densities play in this system, where information transfer plays a key role in locating food. We find a sigmoid relationship describing the probability of vultures finding food as a function of vulture density in the habitat. This relationship suggests a threshold density below which the foraging efficiency of the vulture population will drop rapidly towards zero. Management strategies should closely study this foraging system in order to maintain effective foraging densities.
15
SNYDER, NOEL F. R., and JOEL T. FRY. "Validity of Bartram’s Painted Vulture (Aves: Cathartidae)." Zootaxa 3613, no. 1 (February 7, 2013): 61–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3613.1.3.
Full textAbstract:
William Bartram described the Painted Vulture (Vultur sacra) as a new species in his 1791 book on travels in Florida and other southeastern states. However, no specimen of this bird survives, and it has not been reported by any subsequent or-nithologist. Bartram’s detailed description is not presently endorsed by the American Ornithologists’ Union and has been widely regarded as a myth, a misdescribed King Vulture Sarcoramphus papa (Linnaeus), a misdescribed Northern Carac-ara Caracara cheriway (Jacquin), or a garbled mixture of species. In fact, his description bears almost no resemblance to a Northern Caracara, but it does match the King Vulture in all important respects except tail color (which is uniform dark brown in all ages and sexes of King Vultures but was white with a dark brown or black tip in Bartram’s description). Most 20th century ornithologists commenting on Bartram’s bird have been reluctant to accept his description because of the tail-color discrepancy. Only McAtee (1942) concluded that his description could be fully accurate as written, indicating a bird closely related to, but different from, a typical King Vulture. Paralleling Bartram’s description is an apparently independent account and painting of a vulture of uncertain geo-graphic origin by Eleazar Albin (1734). Details of Albin’s description, including tail color, are very similar to those of Bartram’s description. The only discrepancies are minor differences in color of softparts and tail that seem explicable as intraspecific variation. Available evidence suggests that Bartram knew nothing of Albin’s description, and if so, Albin’s bird provides quite persuasive support for the validity of Bartram’s bird. Equally important, none of the arguments offered historically against the validity of the Painted Vulture is persuasive when examined closely. Together, these and other fac-tors make a strong case for acceptance of Bartram’s Painted Vulture as a historic resident of northern Florida and likely other adjacent regions.
16
CLEMENTS, TOM, MARTIN GILBERT, HUGO J. RAINEY, RICHARD CUTHBERT, JONATHAN C. EAMES, PECH BUNNAT, SENG TEAK, SONG CHANSOCHEAT, and TAN SETHA. "Vultures in Cambodia: population, threats and conservation." Bird Conservation International 23, no. 1 (April 25, 2012): 7–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270912000093.
Full textAbstract:
SummaryAsian vultures have undergone dramatic declines of 90–99% in the Indian Subcontinent, as a consequence of poisoning by veterinary use of the drug diclofenac, and are at a high risk of extinction. Cambodia supports one of the only populations of three species (White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis, Slender-billed Vulture G. tenuirostris and Red-headed Vulture Sarcogyps calvus) outside of South Asia where diclofenac use is not widespread. Conservation of the Cambodian sub-populations is therefore a global priority. This study analyses the results of a long-term research programme into Cambodian vultures that was initiated in 2004. Population sizes of each species are estimated at 50–200+ individuals, ranging across an area of approximately 300 km by 250 km, including adjacent areas in Laos and Vietnam. The principal causes of vulture mortality were poisoning (73%), probably as an accidental consequence of local hunting and fishing practices, and hunting or capture for traditional medicine (15%). This represents a significant loss from such a small population of long-lived, slow breeding, species such as vultures. Cambodian vultures are severely food limited and are primarily dependent on domestic ungulate carcasses, as wild ungulate populations have been severely depleted over the past 20 years. Local people across the vulture range still follow traditional animal husbandry practices, including releasing livestock into the open deciduous dipterocarp forest areas when they are not needed for work, providing the food source. Reducing threats through limiting the use of poisons (which are also harmful for human health) and supplementary food provisioning in the short to medium-term through ‘vulture restaurants’ is critical if Cambodian vultures are to be conserved.
17
GALLIGAN, TOBY H., TATSUYA AMANO, VIBHU M. PRAKASH, MANDAR KULKARNI, ROHAN SHRINGARPURE, NIKITA PRAKASH, SACHIN RANADE, RHYS E. GREEN, and RICHARD J. CUTHBERT. "Have population declines in Egyptian Vulture and Red-headed Vulture in India slowed since the 2006 ban on veterinary diclofenac?" Bird Conservation International 24, no. 3 (April 1, 2014): 272–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270913000580.
Full textAbstract:
SummaryPopulations of three vulture species of the genus Gyps, the Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus and Red-headed Vulture Sarcogyps calvus have declined markedly on the Indian subcontinent since the mid-1990s and all are now Critically Endangered or Endangered. Gyps vultures have been killed by the widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac, ingested when they feed on carcasses of domesticated ungulates treated with the drug shortly before death. However, it is not known whether Egyptian Vulture and Red-headed Vulture are also sensitive to diclofenac. Veterinary use of diclofenac was banned in India in 2006. Since then, the prevalence and concentration of diclofenac in domesticated ungulates carcasses has decreased and population declines of Gyps vultures have slowed or reversed. Here, we examine counts of Egyptian and Red-headed Vultures obtained on road transects in and near protected areas between 1992 and 2011. We found indications that the declines in both species appear to have slowed and possibly increased after the ban was introduced, though the small numbers of birds counted make this conclusion less robust than that for the Gyps species. These results suggest that both species may have been adversely impacted by diclofenac and that government bans on this drug, which are beginning to take effect, may benefit a wider range of vulture species in the Indian subcontinent than was previously thought.
18
CHAUDHRY, M. JAMSHED I., DARCY L. OGADA, RIFFAT N. MALIK, MUNIR Z. VIRANI, and MATTHEW D. GIOVANNI. "First evidence that populations of the critically endangered Long-billed Vulture Gyps indicus in Pakistan have increased following the ban of the toxic veterinary drug diclofenac in south Asia." Bird Conservation International 22, no. 4 (October 29, 2012): 389–97. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270912000445.
Full textAbstract:
SummaryThe cliff-nesting Long-billed Vulture Gyps indicus is one of four critically endangered Asian Vultures. In India, this species has declined catastrophically, but in Pakistan only small population declines have been recorded. Mortality of this species has been linked to poisoning by veterinary diclofenac, which was banned throughout south Asia in 2006. Between 2003 and 2012 we measured abundance of adult, sub-adult, juvenile, and dead vultures, and nest occupancy and productivity at the largest known Long-billed Vulture colony in Pakistan. We compared population parameters from before (2003−2006) and after (2007−2012) the ban on veterinary diclofenac. Our data and models indicate that vulture abundance, nest occupancy, and nest productivity declined 61%, 73%, and 95%, respectively, in the three years before the diclofenac ban, and then increased 1–2 years after the ban by 55%, 52%, and 95%. Furthermore, we observed 87% of total vulture mortalities prior to the diclofenac ban. Our results demonstrate for the first time since the onset of the Asian vulture crisis that the ban on veterinary diclofenac is an effective management tool for reversing Long-billed Vulture population declines.
19
Mateo-Tomás, Patricia, Pedro P. Olea, and Isidoro Fombellida. "Status of the Endangered Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus in the Cantabrian Mountains, Spain, and assessment of threats." Oryx 44, no. 3 (July 2010): 434–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605310000505.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThe Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus is categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as well as on the European and Spanish Red Lists. Spain is home to the most important breeding population of Egyptian vultures in Europe but this population has differing trends at a regional scale. We present data for the Egyptian vulture population in the Cantabrian Mountains, north-west Spain, during the last 3 decades and assess the main threats to the species there. The Egyptian vulture population in the Cantabrian Mountains was estimated to be 175 breeding pairs in 2008, which comprised 13–14% of the Spanish population. This population has been stable, or increasing slightly, since 2000. During 2000–2008 4.3% of the Cantabrian Egyptian vulture population was affected by the use of illegal poison. During the same period the number of sheep and goats reared (which contributes to the maintenance of Egyptian vulture territories) was reduced by 27.4%, which could lead to food shortages for the vultures in the near future. Currently 32 breeding pairs (18.3% of the population) have wind turbines within their foraging areas, with an average of 59 wind turbines per territory (range 1–176). During the next few years this number will increase to 110 turbines per territory within 69 vulture territories (39.4% of the population). Nearly a third (32.6%) of breeding territories are located outside protected areas. Better coordination between administrative areas is needed to guarantee the conservation of the Cantabrian Mountains population of Egyptian vultures through effective surveillance and protection in the numerous existing protected areas.
20
GALLIGAN, TOBY H., KRISHNA P. BHUSAL, KHADANANDA PAUDEL, DEVENDRA CHAPAGAIN, ANKIT B. JOSHI, ISHWARI P. CHAUDHARY, ANAND CHAUDHARY, HEM S. BARAL, RICHARD J. CUTHBERT, and RHYS E. GREEN. "Partial recovery of Critically Endangered Gyps vulture populations in Nepal." Bird Conservation International 30, no. 1 (May 24, 2019): 87–102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270919000169.
Full textAbstract:
SummaryPopulations of Critically Endangered White-rumped Gyps bengalensis and Slender-billed G. tenuirostris Vultures in Nepal declined rapidly during the 2000s, almost certainly because of the effects of the use in livestock of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac, which is nephrotoxic to Gyps vultures. In 2006, veterinary use of diclofenac was banned in Nepal and this was followed by the gradual implementation, over most of the geographical range of the two vulture species in Nepal, of a Vulture Safe Zone (VSZ) programme to advocate vulture conservation, raise awareness about diclofenac, provide vultures with NSAID-free food and encourage the veterinary use in livestock of a vulture-safe alternative NSAID (meloxicam). We report the results of long-term monitoring of vulture populations in Nepal before and after this programme was implemented, by means of road transects. Piecewise regression analysis of the count data indicated that a rapid decline of the White-rumped Vulture population from 2002 up to about 2013 gave way to a partial recovery between about 2013 and 2018. More limited data for the Slender-billed Vulture indicated that a rapid decline also gave way to partial recovery from about 2012 onwards. The rates at which populations were increasing in the 2010s exceeded the upper end of the range of increase rates expected in a closed population under optimal conditions. The possibility that immigration from India is contributing to the changes cannot be excluded. We present evidence from open and undercover pharmacy surveys that the VSZ programme had apparently become effective in reducing the availability of diclofenac in a large part of the range of these species in Nepal by about 2011. Hence, community-based advocacy and awareness-raising actions, and possibly also provisioning of safe food, may have made an important contribution to vulture conservation by augmenting the effects of changes in the regulation of toxic veterinary drugs.
21
SCHABO, DANA G., SONJA HEUNER, MICHAEL V. NEETHLING, SASCHA RÖSNER, ROGER UYS, and NINA FARWIG. "Long-term data indicates that supplementary food enhances the number of breeding pairs in a Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres colony." Bird Conservation International 27, no. 1 (August 12, 2016): 140–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270915000350.
Full textAbstract:
SummaryThe number of vultures is declining in many parts of the world due to numerous threats, such as poisoning and collisions with power-lines as well as the lack of adequate food sources. Vulture restaurants, i.e. supplementary feeding stations, have become a widespread conservation tool aimed at supporting vulture colonies. However, it is poorly understood how vulture restaurants influence population dynamics and whether they affect breeding success of vulture populations. We used a 12-year dataset from a breeding colony of the Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres and a nearby vulture restaurant in South Africa to investigate the effect of supplementary food on population dynamics and breeding success. We found a significantly positive effect of supplementary food during the nest-building stage on the number of breeding pairs. However, breeding success, i.e. the proportion of successful nests, did not depend on supplementary food during the incubation and rearing stage. Especially during the critical rearing stage, the amount of food supplied might not have been sufficient to meet food demands of the colony. Still, our results indicate that carefully managed vulture restaurants might stabilise vulture colonies and can therefore aid vulture conservation.
22
Naidoo, Vinny, Kerri Wolter, Duncan Cromarty, Maria Diekmann, Neil Duncan, Andrew A. Meharg, Mark A. Taggart, Leon Venter, and Richard Cuthbert. "Toxicity of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to Gyps vultures: a new threat from ketoprofen." Biology Letters 6, no. 3 (December 9, 2009): 339–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0818.
Full textAbstract:
Three Gyps vulture species are on the brink of extinction in South Asia owing to the veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac. Carcasses of domesticated ungulates are the main food source for Asia's vultures and birds die from kidney failure after consuming diclofenac-contaminated tissues. Here, we report on the safety testing of the NSAID ketoprofen, which was not reported to cause mortality in clinical treatment of scavenging birds and is rapidly eliminated from livestock tissues. Safety testing was undertaken using captive non-releasable Cape griffon vultures ( Gyps coprotheres ) and wild-caught African white-backed vultures ( G. africanus ), both previously identified as susceptible to diclofenac and suitable surrogates. Ketoprofen doses ranged from 0.5 to 5 mg kg −1 vulture body weight, based upon recommended veterinary guidelines and maximum levels of exposure for wild vultures (estimated as 1.54 mg kg −1 ). Doses were administered by oral gavage or through feeding tissues from cattle dosed with ketoprofen at 6 mg kg −1 cattle body weight, before slaughter. Mortalities occurred at dose levels of 1.5 and 5 mg kg −1 vulture body weight (within the range recommended for clinical treatment) with the same clinical signs as observed for diclofenac. Surveys of livestock carcasses in India indicate that toxic levels of residual ketoprofen are already present in vulture food supplies. Consequently, we strongly recommend that ketoprofen is not used for veterinary treatment of livestock in Asia and in other regions of the world where vultures access livestock carcasses. The only alternative to diclofenac that should be promoted as safe for vultures is the NSAID meloxicam.
23
Spina, Marjory Auad, and Luís Fábio Silveira. "First record of death-feigning in Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) (Cathartidae)." Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 27, no. 4 (December 2019): 242–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf03546069.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractDeath-feigning is a behavior ability with the purpose of allowing prey to evade from predators. Despite death-feigning is recorded on a wide variety of bird species, it has been recorded only once in vultures, more specifically on a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) nest. In addition to this record, we report this behavior while manipulating an individual of Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) in Brazil. This behavior is not usual in Cathartidae since adult vultures do not have a known natural predator.
24
DEIKUMAH, JUSTUS P. "Vulture declines, threats and conservation: the attitude of the indigenous Ghanaian." Bird Conservation International 30, no. 1 (August 8, 2019): 103–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270919000261.
Full textAbstract:
SummaryUnderstanding the attitude of people towards vultures, especially factors that influence behaviours that support their conservation, is crucial if the decline in vultures is to be slowed and reversed. Their vital ecosystem function in keeping the environment free of carcasses and reducing the spread of disease is not yet appreciated in Ghana. Little is known about the attitude of Ghanaians’ about vultures. Structured questionnaires and key informant surveys were employed with a sample size of 460 respondents randomly selected across Ghana. Over 85% of respondents were familiar with the Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus and vultures were culturally important to 56% of respondents. Diseases that affect livestock are claimed to be treated with chemicals such as diclofenac sodium to which vultures are highly susceptible globally and livestock carcasses were not available to vultures as 53% of respondents bury carcasses. A new poisoning pathway has emerged in which furadan is used to poison wildlife for bushmeat and the offal removed which is then consumed by vultures, as indicated by 78% of respondents. The majority of respondents positively thought vultures were important and must be protected. Poisoning, habitat loss particularly the loss of silk cotton tree Ceiba pentandra and trade in vulture parts for traditional medicine are major threats to vultures in Ghana. Continuous awareness creation, positive attitude towards the environment, vulture conservation programmes and protection of breeding sites were some urgent conservation actions recommended to ensure the survival of vultures.
25
CHAUDHARY, ANAND, TULSI RAM SUBEDI, JEET BAHADUR GIRI, HEM SAGAR BARAL, BASU BIDARI, HEM SUBEDI, BADRI CHAUDHARY, ISHWORI CHAUDHARY, KHADANANDA PAUDEL, and RICHARD J. CUTHBERT. "Population trends of Critically Endangered Gyps vultures in the lowlands of Nepal." Bird Conservation International 22, no. 3 (December 16, 2011): 270–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270911000426.
Full textAbstract:
SummaryThree species of resident Gyps vulture are threatened with extinction in South Asia due to the contamination of domestic ungulate carcasses with the drug diclofenac. Observed rates of population decrease are among the highest recorded for any bird species, leading to total declines in excess of 99.9% for the Oriental White-backed Vulture Gyps bengalensis in India between 1992 and 2007. Vultures have declined in Nepal, but quantitative information on the rate and scale of decreases is unavailable. Road transect surveys for vultures, following the same route, methodology and timing, were undertaken in lowland areas of Nepal for seven years from 2002 to 2011. The seven survey transects followed Nepal’s East-West highway and covered 1,010 km in three years of the survey, and 638 km in the remaining four years. Slender-billed Vultures G. tenuirostris were very scarce, with a maximum of five individuals in 2002 and none recorded in 2010 and 2011. Oriental White-backed Vultures were most commonly recorded, but decreased from 205 to 68 birds over the survey period, with an estimated annual rate of decline of 14% a year. If population decreases commenced in Nepal in the same year as in India, then White-backed Vultures in Nepal have declined by 91% since the mid-1990s. Few resident Gyps vultures remained in Eastern and Central regions of Nepal, with just one, nine and six birds recorded in the three surveys that covered these regions. The majority of threatened Gyps vultures in lowland Nepal are now found in Western and Mid Western regions, where conservation efforts have been focused in the last six years. Removing veterinary diclofenac from across the country and continuing to manage effective “vulture safe zones” are essential to conserve Nepal’s remaining vulture populations.
26
Teklemariam, Mebrat, and Bezawork Afework. "Abundance and diurnal activity patterns of hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus Temminck,) in Addis Ababa abattoirs enterprise, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia." SINET: Ethiopian Journal of Science 44, no. 1 (June 9, 2021): 129–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/sinet.v44i1.12.
Full textAbstract:
Hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) is an African endemic scavenger listed as Critically Endangered species. The population is declining across its range and there is threat of significant decline in population and distribution in Ethiopia. Little efforts have been made to properly document the status of vulture population and their diurnal activity patterns in the country for ensuring long term conservation measures. A study was conducted in Addis Ababa Abattoirs enterprise, Ethiopia from November 2019 to January 2020 to investigate the abundance and diurnal activity patterns of hooded vultures. The abundance of these vultures was estimated by direct counts method at their feeding sites and scan sampling was employed to study the diurnal activity patterns of hooded vultures from dawn to dusk. Hooded vulture mean abundance was 216±40 at the abattoir. Their diurnal activity pattern showed that they were observed feeding, resting (perching, watching and basking), preening, roosting and others activities such as walking, drinking, chasing and flying. They spent 37.73% of their time in resting followed by others (including walking, drinking, chasing and flying) (27.73%). The major threat recorded for theses vultures in the abattoir includes shortage of food, human disturbances, negative attitudes and lack of awareness on the importance of the species. Further ecological studies and impacts of human activities on Addis Ababa Abattoirs enterprise should be conducted for the conservation of hooded vulture and other conspecifics in the area.
27
García-Alfonso, Marina, Thijs van Overveld, Laura Gangoso, David Serrano, and José A. Donázar. "Vultures and Livestock: The Where, When, and Why of Visits to Farms." Animals 10, no. 11 (November 16, 2020): 2127. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani10112127.
Full textAbstract:
Recent changes in European legislation have legalized the abandonment of carcasses around livestock farms, but our understanding of how vultures exploit these semi-predictable food sources is still very limited. For filling this gap, we determine the individual and ecological drivers influencing vulture visits to farms. We assessed the effects of individual characteristics of both birds and farms on the frequency of vultures’ visits to livestock facilities using data collected from 45 GPS-tagged Egyptian Vultures (Neophron percnopterus) and 318 farms (>94% of livestock) on Fuerteventura Island, Spain. Farms were more visited during the vultures’ breeding season. Farms located closer to highly predictable feeding places (i.e., vulture restaurants and garbage dumps) or with more available feeding resources were visited by more vultures, whereas those located close to roads and vultures’ breeding territories received fewer visits. Younger territorial birds visited a farm more frequently than older territorial ones, whereas older non-territorial individuals concentrated those visits on farms closer to their activity core areas compared with younger ones. Our findings indicate that visits to farms were determined by their spatial distribution in relation to the age-specific birds’ activity centers, the availability of carcasses, seasonality, and individual characteristics of vultures. These interacting factors should be considered in vulture conservation, avoiding very general solutions that ignore population structure.
28
Gbogbo, Francis, Japheth S. T. Roberts, and Vincent Awotwe-Pratt. "Some Important Observations on the Populations of Hooded VulturesNecrosyrtes monachusin Urban Ghana." International Journal of Zoology 2016 (2016): 1–6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/7946172.
Full textAbstract:
Despite major declines in the population of vultures around the world, noticeable increases were reported in the populations of Hooded VulturesNecrosyrtes monachusover the past decade in Accra—an important vulture habitat in Ghana. In recent times, however, there is a growing concern that the vulture numbers are decreasing even though scientific data to support this is nonexisting. As a vital zoogeographical and conservation tool, it is important to keep an up-to-date knowledge about urban bird populations amidst rapid urbanization and associated changes. Using a combination of field data, literature review, and stakeholder consultations, it was indicative that severe decline might have indeed occurred in the populations of Hooded Vultures in Accra. Evidence suggests the killing of vultures for consumption, traditional medicine, and black magic in an undercover trade with possible transboundary connections as important underlying factor. Additional factors suspected to underlie the declines include changes in management of urban facilities and destruction of roosting and nesting trees. The implications of interspecific competition with Pied CrowsCorvus albuson Hooded Vultures however remain unclear. There is an urgent need for conservation campaign and education to save the Hooded Vulture in Ghana.
29
Kichloo, Muzaffar A., Sudesh Kumar, and Neeraj Sharma. "Breeding site records of three sympatric vultures in a mountainous cliff in Kahara-Thathri, Jammu & Kashmir, India." Journal of Threatened Taxa 12, no. 9 (June 26, 2020): 16166–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.5537.12.9.16166-16169.
Full textAbstract:
The current communication deals with the breeding records of three sympatric vultures, viz., Himalayan Vulture Gyps himalayensis, Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus, and Bearded vulture Gypaetus barbatus from a mountain cliff in Kahara, Thathri, a part of upper Chenab catchment in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Made of twigs and lined by dry grass, the nests mostly east-facing, were built on the ledges or in cavities and small caves on cliffs well protected from predators. The inaccessibility, rugged topography (for nesting) and the abundant food base (gorals, monkeys, langurs, pikas, and rodents) make it an ideal nesting location for the vultures. Authors suggested that intensive studies are required to be taken up on the resource apportionment and influence of habitat variables (climate, terrain, disturbance) on the nest site characteristics in such rugged landscapes.
30
Ogada, Darcy, André Botha, and Phil Shaw. "Ivory poachers and poison: drivers of Africa's declining vulture populations." Oryx 50, no. 4 (December 7, 2015): 593–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605315001209.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractFour species of African vultures have been recategorized as Critically Endangered, and two as Endangered, on the IUCN Red List. Their declining status is attributed partly to the impacts of widespread poisoning. Prior to 2012 poisoning of vultures was mostly associated with illegal predator control by livestock farmers, in which vultures were typically unintended victims. More recently, ivory poachers have been using poisons to kill elephants Loxodonta africana or to contaminate their carcasses specifically to eliminate vultures, whose overhead circling might otherwise reveal the poachers’ presence. Between 2012 and 2014 we recorded 11 poaching-related incidents in seven African countries, in which 155 elephants and 2,044 vultures were killed. In at least two incidents the harvesting of vulture body parts (for fetish) may have provided an additional motive. We show that vulture mortality associated with ivory poaching has increased more rapidly than that associated with other poisoning incidents, and now accounts for one-third of all vulture poisonings recorded since 1970. This recent surge in the illegal use of poisons exposes weaknesses in the regulations, for which we propose measures aimed primarily at retail controls. However, because ivory poachers already operate outside any legal framework, African governments require international support in applying more punitive sentencing against mass wildlife poisoning.
31
Arkumarev, Volen, Mike McGrady, and Ivaylo Angelov. "A literature review of occurrence of Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) resident in Africa." Vulture News 77, no. 1 (September 21, 2020): 1–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/vulnew.v77i1.1.
Full textAbstract:
The Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus is a globally endangered species that is experiencing rapid population declines throughout most of its range. Conservation of Egyptian Vultures in Africa is globally important because it holds a resident population of 1 000 – 2 000 breeding pairs, harbours a significant but unknown number of Eurasian migrants during the boreal winter, and many non-adult Egyptian Vultures reared in Eurasia dwell in Africa until they mature. Africa comprises approximately half of the area of the global range of the species. Once considered common and widespread in many parts of Africa, Egyptian Vulture is now one of the vulture species that is most threatened with extinction. Egyptian Vulture is considered extinct as a breeding species in Southern Africa, and continuous population declines have been reported from most of its African range, resulting in a population reduction of perhaps 75%. Despite these declines, there is an apparent lack of systematic observations, and its current status in many African countries is unknown. Furthermore, little is known about the magnitude of the various threats and their impact on resident and wintering Egyptian Vultures. Data-deficiency hinders conservation efforts across the continent. We conducted an extensive review of published and unpublished information on the resident Egyptian Vulture populations in Africa, in an attempt to systemize the available knowledge of the species’ historic and current occurrence on a country-by country basis and identify the threats it faces. Information was found from 39 countries; no records of Egyptian Vultures were found in 16 other countries. In 12 countries where Egyptian Vultures have been observed, breeding has never been confirmed, and observations most likely refer to vagrants or wintering individuals. The Horn of Africa appears to be a relative stronghold, but there too, losses almost certainly have occurred. Poisoning, electrocution and direct killing for belief-based practices are considered the main mortality factors, and are hampering the species’ recovery. The review highlights the dire status of Egyptian Vultures in Africa, and calls for the urgent implementation of various large-scale conservation measures that will combat threats, secure the survival of the species on the continent, and make Africa safer for migrants coming from Eurasia.
32
Bamford, Andrew J., Maria Diekmann, Ara Monadjem, and John Mendelsohn. "Ranging behaviour of Cape Vultures Gyps coprotheres from an endangered population in Namibia." Bird Conservation International 17, no. 4 (December 2007): 331–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270907000846.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThe Cape Vulture (Gyps coprotheres) is an obligate cliff-nesting vulture endemic to southern Africa. Its range and population size have declined markedly over the last century. Namibia has just one colony, located on the cliffs of the Waterberg Plateau, with a population estimated to be eight adult birds, including two females. The species is regarded as Critically Endangered in Namibia, and establishing a secure breeding population may require intensive management. Data on movements, foraging range and behaviour of Cape Vultures, important in any management programme, have been lacking. Five adult males and one immature were captured near the Waterberg site and fitted with satellite-tracking devices. Only two of the adult vultures still roosted on the cliffs and only one of those exclusively; the other individuals roosted in trees. Three individuals were observed building and attending to nests in trees, and, for one of these, the partner was identified as an African White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus). The foraging range of the adult birds was large compared with other studies of this species. Most foraging took place on freehold farms. All adults avoided areas of communally owned land where wild ungulates are uncommon, thus further decreasing their potentially available food supply. Two ‘vulture restaurants’, feeding sites specifically for vultures, within the foraging range of the adult birds accounted for a large proportion of their time spent on the ground. The ranging behaviour of adult vultures varied throughout the year, and was apparently related to their nesting behaviour.
33
Adawaren, Emmanuel Oluwasegun, Morne Du Plessis, Essa Suleman, Duodane Kindler, Almero O. Oosthuizen, Lillian Mukandiwa, and Vinny Naidoo. "The complete mitochondrial genome of Gyps coprotheres (Aves, Accipitridae, Accipitriformes): phylogenetic analysis of mitogenome among raptors." PeerJ 8 (November 11, 2020): e10034. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10034.
Full textAbstract:
Three species of Old World vultures on the Asian peninsula are slowly recovering from the lethal consequences of diclofenac. At present the reason for species sensitivity to diclofenac is unknown. Furthermore, it has since been demonstrated that other Old World vultures like the Cape (Gyps coprotheres; CGV) and griffon (G. fulvus) vultures are also susceptible to diclofenac toxicity. Oddly, the New World Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) and pied crow (Corvus albus) are not susceptible to diclofenac toxicity. As a result of the latter, we postulate an evolutionary link to toxicity. As a first step in understanding the susceptibility to diclofenac toxicity, we use the CGV as a model species for phylogenetic evaluations, by comparing the relatedness of various raptor species known to be susceptible, non-susceptible and suspected by their relationship to the Cape vulture mitogenome. This was achieved by next generation sequencing and assembly. The Cape vulture mitogenome had a genome size of 16,908 bp. The mitogenome phylogenetic analysis indicated a close evolutionary relationship between Old World vultures and other members of the Accipitridae as indicated by bootstrap value of 100% on the phylogenetic trees. Based on this, we postulate that the other species could also be sensitive to the toxic effects of diclofenac. This warrants further investigations.
34
Keyser, C., H. Pfitzinger, D. Montagnon, M. Schlee, B. Ludes, and P. Mangin. "First isolation of tandemly repeated DNA sequences in New World vultures and phylogenetic implications." Genome 39, no. 1 (February 1, 1996): 31–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/g96-005.
Full textAbstract:
A highly repeated DNA sequence composed of closely related subunits that ranged from 171 to 176 base pairs has been cloned and characterized in the king vulture (Sarcoramphus papa). Related sequences were also isolated in the black vulture (Coragyps atratus). This new family of avian repetitive DNA elements is here termed the "HaeIII family." Genomic DNAs from a number of avian species were probed with one of the king vulture restriction fragments. In the cathartids, the hybridization patterns showed no individual or sexual variations. A strong HaeIII ladder was present in the two aforementioned species as well as in the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus), but in the black vulture the bands of the ladder alternated in intensity. Weaker hybridization signals were obtained in two ciconids, the jabiru stork (Jabiru mycteria) and the white stork (Ciconia ciconia). The HaeIII repeat was not detected in accipitrid birds of prey, a Polyborinae falconid, pelecanids, and psittacids. Key words : satellite DNA, New World vulture, tandem repeat, Sarcoramphus papa, Coragyps atratus.
35
Cuthbert, Richard J., Mark A. Taggart, Mohini Saini, Anil Sharma, Asit Das, Mandar D. Kulkarni, Parag Deori, et al. "Continuing mortality of vultures in India associated with illegal veterinary use of diclofenac and a potential threat from nimesulide." Oryx 50, no. 1 (May 20, 2015): 104–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s003060531500037x.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThe collapse of South Asia's Gyps vulture populations is attributable to the veterinary use of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac. Vultures died after feeding on carcasses of recently-medicated animals. The governments of India, Nepal and Pakistan banned the veterinary use of diclofenac in 2006. We analysed results of 62 necropsies and 48 NSAID assays of liver and/or kidney for vultures of five species found dead in India between 2000 and 2012. Visceral gout and diclofenac were detected in vultures from nine states and three species: Gyps bengalensis, Gyps indicus and Gyps himalayensis. Visceral gout was found in every vulture carcass in which a measurable level of diclofenac was detected. Meloxicam, an NSAID of low toxicity to vultures, was found in two vultures and nimesulide in five vultures. Nimesulide at elevated tissue concentrations was associated with visceral gout in four of these cases, always without diclofenac, suggesting that nimesulide may have similar toxic effects to those of diclofenac. Residues of meloxicam on its own were never associated with visceral gout. The proportion of Gyps vultures found dead in the wild in India with measurable levels of diclofenac in their tissues showed a modest and non-significant decline since the ban on the veterinary use of diclofenac. The prevalence of visceral gout declined less, probably because some cases of visceral gout from 2008 onwards were associated with nimesulide rather than diclofenac. Veterinary use of nimesulide is a potential threat to the recovery of vulture populations.
36
Kabir, Muhammad, Urwah Shamas, Shakeel Ahmad, and Muhammad Naeem Awan. "Population Surveys of Endangered Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) in Mahasheer National Park Kotli, Azad Jammu and Kashmir." Vulture News 77, no. 1 (September 21, 2020): 55–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/vulnew.v77i1.2.
Full textAbstract:
The global distribution and population of the Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) has declined but the species remains poorly studied in the Azad, Jammu and Kashmir area of Pakistan. This lack of information about the species limits the ability to adopt strategies for its conservation. This study was conducted in four selected sites of northeast Pakistan to estimate the population status of Egyptian vultures in the study area. Potential sites and colonies of the Egyptian vultures were first identified and then monitored using point count methods. We counted a maximum of 121 Egyptian vultures across the four sites that were surveyed in the study area. Conservation action at the State level is needed to help protect this vulture species of global conservation concern, and our results provide a baseline from which future monitoring can proceed.
37
DOBREV, VLADIMIR, ZLATOZAR BOEV, VOLEN ARKUMAREV, DOBROMIR DOBREV, ELZBIETA KRET, VICTORIA SARAVIA, ANASTASIOS BOUNAS, DIMITRIS VAVYLIS, STOYAN C. NIKOLOV, and STEFFEN OPPEL. "Diet is not related to productivity but to territory occupancy in a declining population of Egyptian Vultures Neophron percnopterus." Bird Conservation International 26, no. 3 (December 1, 2015): 273–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270915000155.
Full textAbstract:
SummaryA prominent threat to European vultures has been sanitary regulations that banned the disposal of livestock carcasses. Changes in food abundance following these regulations have been associated with changes in vulture behaviour and demographic parameters, but to what extent diet changes are responsible for population declines is poorly understood. The Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus is the smallest and most threatened European vulture species and has an opportunistic and diverse diet. In Eastern Europe, the Egyptian Vulture population is declining more rapidly than elsewhere but there is little information on diet composition and the relationship between diet and demographic parameters to inform conservation management. We examined whether Egyptian Vulture population declines in Bulgaria and Greece may have been associated with diet changes that affected breeding productivity by monitoring breeding success and collecting diet remains from 143 Egyptian Vulture breeding attempts between 2006 and 2013. We found no relationship between diet diversity or composition and productivity. However, there was a significant relationship between occupancy rate of territories and diet diversity, indicating that occupancy rate decreased with a very diverse or a very narrow diet and a higher proportion of wild animals or a lower proportion of livestock in the diet. There was no temporal change in diet diversity in Bulgaria after admission to the EU in 2007. We conclude that it is unlikely that diet limitations on reproductive output are a critical threat to Egyptian Vultures on the Balkan Peninsula. The relationship between diet diversity and territory occupancy rate may indicate that adult birds with a very narrow or a very broad diet may be more susceptible to consuming poisoned carcasses, and more information on the effect of diet availability on adult and juvenile survival would be useful to inform and improve conservation management actions.
38
MURN, CAMPBELL, UZMA SAEED, UZMA KHAN, and SHAHID IQBAL. "Population and spatial breeding dynamics of a Critically Endangered Oriental White-backed Vulture Gyps bengalensis colony in Sindh Province, Pakistan." Bird Conservation International 25, no. 4 (December 16, 2014): 415–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270914000483.
Full textAbstract:
SummaryThe Critically Endangered Oriental White-backed Vulture Gyps bengalensis has declined across most of its range by over 95% since the mid-1990s. The primary cause of the decline and an ongoing threat is the ingestion by vultures of livestock carcasses containing residues of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, principally diclofenac. Recent surveys in Pakistan during 2010 and 2011 revealed very few vultures or nests, particularly of White-backed Vultures. From 2011 in the Tharparkar District of Sindh Province we monitored a colony of Oriental White-backed Vultures. Between 2011 and 2014 the number of active nests in this colony increased from 11 to 34 while nest density decreased from 13.7 to 9.2 nests km-2, suggesting that the colony is expanding. We conclude that the rate of increase is being subsidised by immigration, as the population demographics do not support the observed rate of increase in nests. We present the first analysis of spatial breeding dynamics for the Oriental White-backed Vulture and describe how a clustered pattern of nest trees in colonies supports a highly clustered pattern of nests. The spatial pattern of nests relies on both the distribution of trees and the ability of trees to support more than one nest. These results highlight that the preservation of larger nest trees and the sustainable management of timber resources are essential components for the conservation management of this species. We emphasise the high importance of this colony and a nearby Long-billed Vulture Gyps indicus colony in this area of Pakistan. Recommended conservation management actions include the continuation of a Vulture Safe Zone established in 2012, measuring breeding success, assessing dispersal and determining the impact of mortality on these populations.
39
Pain, Deborah J., Christopher G. R. Bowden, Andrew A. Cunningham, Richard Cuthbert, Devojit Das, Martin Gilbert, Ram D. Jakati, et al. "The race to prevent the extinction of South Asian vultures." Bird Conservation International 18, S1 (August 7, 2008): S30—S48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270908000324.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractGyps vulture populations across the Indian subcontinent collapsed in the 1990s and continue to decline. Repeated population surveys showed that the rate of decline was so rapid that elevated mortality of adult birds must be a key demographic mechanism. Post mortem examination showed that the majority of dead vultures had visceral gout, due to kidney damage. The realisation that diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug potentially nephrotoxic to birds, had become a widely used veterinary medicine led to the identification of diclofenac poisoning as the cause of the decline. Surveys of diclofenac contamination of domestic ungulate carcasses, combined with vulture population modelling, show that the level of contamination is sufficient for it to be the sole cause of the decline. Testing on vultures of meloxicam, an alternative NSAID for livestock treatment, showed that it did not harm them at concentrations likely to be encountered by wild birds and would be a safe replacement for diclofenac. The manufacture of diclofenac for veterinary use has been banned, but its sale has not. Consequently, it may be some years before diclofenac is removed from the vultures' food supply. In the meantime, captive populations of three vulture species have been established to provide sources of birds for future reintroduction programmes.
40
Gilbert, Martin, Munir Z. Virani, Richard T. Watson, J. Lindsay Oaks, Patrick C. Benson, Aleem A. Khan, Shakeel Ahmed, et al. "Breeding and mortality of Oriental White-backed Vulture Gyps bengalensis in Punjab Province, Pakistan." Bird Conservation International 12, no. 4 (December 2002): 311–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270902002198.
Full textAbstract:
Populations of Oriental White-backed Vulture Gyps bengalensis and Long-billed Vulture G. indicus declined in India between the mid 1980s and late 1990s. Regional reports from India described declines of 95–100% across a wide area. This study was conducted to investigate the breeding success and pattern of mortality in two vulture colonies (Dholewala and Changa Manga) within Punjab Province, Pakistan between December 2000 and June 2001. Breeding success was found to be 62% in Dholewala and 59% in Changa Manga. A total of 668 sick and dead vultures were collected of which 591 were less than one month post mortem. No significant variation was found in the weekly mortality rate of adult and subadult vultures during the study period spanning winter through summer. A peak in mortality rate was observed during late April and early May that corresponded to mortality of newly fledged juveniles. Minimum annual mortality rate in the adult breeding population was calculated to be 11.4% and 18.6% in Dholewala and Changa Manga respectively. In a subsample of dead vultures (n = 185) visceral gout was found in 80% of adults, 63% of subadults, 19% of juveniles and 13% of nestlings. These mortality rates were consistent with a rapid population decline. Results imply that the mortality factor responsible for the decline in Gyps vultures described in India is also present in Pakistan and will potentially lead to a population decline of a comparable magnitude.
41
van Beest, Floris, Loes van den Bremer, Willem F. de Boer, Ignas M. A. Heitkönig, and Antonio E. Monteiro. "Population dynamics and spatial distribution of Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus) in Portugal." Bird Conservation International 18, no. 2 (May 20, 2008): 102–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270908000129.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThe global decrease of vulture populations has been attributed to several factors, such as food availability, poisoning, human disturbance, or habitat suitability. We studied the effect of factors that vary both spatially and temporally on the nest site distribution of the Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus in northeast Portugal, and influence the population dynamics of these cliff-dwelling birds. Several demographic parameters were studied in the field, and the age structure of the population was determined. Additionally we investigated how food availability affected population fluctuations. The vulture population was most sensitive to juvenile mortality according to our model results. Our models showed that a decrease in the present food supply resulted in a decrease in vulture abundance and, moreover, negatively affected the spatial distribution of the species by decreasing the number of breeding pairs per colony. The total quantity of sheep and goat biomass, a greater distance to the nearest unpaved road, and the presence of Egyptian Vultures Neophron percnopterus at the breeding colonies showed a significant positive relationship to the numbers of Griffon Vulture breeding pairs. It is recommended that the available food supply in the most important foraging areas should be monitored and protected. Furthermore, to manage the community of cliff breeding raptors adequately, future research should identify and protect the most suitable breeding areas for each species. Human disturbance should be kept to a minimum by protecting breeding areas, especially in an area like Riba-Côa where species such as the Egyptian Vulture, Bonelli's Eagle Hieraaetus fasciatus and Griffon Vulture breed so close to each other.
42
Manegold, Albrecht, and Rainer Hutterer. "First substantial evidence for Old World vultures (Aegypiinae, Accipitridae) from the early Palaeolithic and Iberomaurusian of Morocco." PalZ 95, no. 3 (March 15, 2021): 503–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12542-021-00548-9.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractRemains of at least three species of large aegypiine vultures from early Palaeolithic and Iberomaurusian of Ifri n’Ammar, Morocco are the first substantial fossil record of these taxa in the Maghreb. They can be tentatively referred to the two extant species Aegypius monachus (Cinereous Vulture) and Gyps fulvus (Griffon Vulture), and to the extinct Gyps melitensis. Few fragments of remarkably large bones may belong to especially large specimens of A. monachus, but it cannot be ruled out that they are indeed remains of the so far only insufficiently known palaeospecies A. prepyrenaicus Hérnandez, 2001, originally described from the Upper Pleistocene of Spain. Two vulture species definitely occurred contemporarily; Gyps fulvus was found in the entire sequence, while A. monachus occurred only between 13,800 and 17,000 calBP. G. melitensis was found only once in an unknown stratigraphic context. All remains were found along with human artefacts in a cave deposit. Few bones show longitudinal scratches, which probably are cut marks, indicating that humans made use of the flesh, feathers and/or bones of these vultures. None of these species were previously recorded for the Upper Pleistocene of the Maghreb, and the fossil specimens provide important evidence for the former distribution of Old-World vultures in this area, which is insufficiently known and which changed dramatically during the twentieth century.
43
P. Reading, Richard, Sukh Amgalanbaatar, David Kenny, and Banzarjav Dashdemberel. "Cinereous Vulture Nesting Ecology in Ikh Nartyn Chuluu Nature Reserve, Mongolia." Mongolian Journal Of Biological Sciences 3, no. 1 (2005): 13–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.22353/mjbs.2005.03.02.
Full textAbstract:
Cinereous vultures (Aegypius monachus) are the largest raptors in Eurasia. Little is known about the species, especially in Mongolia. We studied the nesting ecology of cinereous vultures in Ikh Nartyn Chuluu Nature Reserve, Dornogobi Aimag. To assess reproductive success, we located active nests and periodically checked to determine if they remained active. We measured nest sizes and, periodically, nestling sizes and weights. We located 42 active cinereous vulture nests (27 on rocks and 15 on trees) in 2003 and 19 nests (14 on rocks and 5 on trees) in 2004. Mean volume of active nests was 3.92 ± 0.39 m3 (n = 36). Most nests failed prior to egg hatching, but after hatching nesting success rates increased dramatically. Following hatching, cinereous vulture chicks grew linearly until leveling off just prior to fledging. We generated growth curves for chicks that allowed us to determine the average size of chicks on specific dates. Improving the prospects for successful cinereous vulture conservation likely requires a better understanding of nesting ecology. As such, we plan to improve the quality of our data by monitoring nests more intensively to determine incubation and fledging lengths, as well as causes of nest failures.
44
SHARMA, ANIL K., MOHINI SAINI, SHAMBHU D. SINGH, VIBHU PRAKASH, ASIT DAS, R. BHARATHI DASAN, SHAILEY PANDEY, et al. "Diclofenac is toxic to the Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis: widening the diversity of raptors threatened by NSAID misuse in South Asia." Bird Conservation International 24, no. 3 (May 27, 2014): 282–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270913000609.
Full textAbstract:
SummaryThree Critically Endangered Gyps vultures endemic to South Asia continue to decline due to the use of diclofenac to treat livestock. High nephrotoxicity of diclofenac to Gyps vultures, leading to death, has been established by experiment and observation, in four out of five Gyps vulture species which occur in South Asia. Declines have also been observed in South Asia’s four other non-Gyps vulture species, but to date there has been no evidence about the importance of diclofenac as a potential cause. Neither is there any evidence on the toxicity of diclofenac to the Accipitridae other than vultures. In this study, gross and microscopic lesions and diclofenac tissue levels in Steppe Eagles Aquila nipalensis found at a cattle carcass dump in Rajasthan, India, show evidence of the toxicity of diclofenac for this species. These findings suggest the possibility that diclofenac is toxic to other accipitrid raptors and is therefore a potential threat to much wider range of scavenging species in South Asia.
45
Gilbert, Martin, Richard T. Watson, Munir Z. Virani, J. Lindsay Oaks, Shakeel Ahmed, Muhammad Jamshed Iqbal Chaudhry, Muhammad Arshad, Shahid Mahmood, Ahmad Ali, and Aleem A. Khan. "Rapid population declines and mortality clusters in three Oriental white-backed vulture Gyps bengalensis colonies in Pakistan due to diclofenac poisoning." Oryx 40, no. 4 (October 2006): 388–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605306001347.
Full textAbstract:
The population declines affecting Asian Gyps vultures are among the most rapid and geographically widespread recorded for any species. This paper describes the rates and patterns of mortality and population change over 4 years at three Oriental white-backed vulture Gyps bengalensis colonies in Pakistan: Dholewala (initially 421 pairs), Toawala (initially 445 pairs) and Changa Manga (initially 758 pairs). Vulture mortality led to the extirpation of two of these colonies (Changa Manga and Dholewala) in 3 years, and a decline of 54.3% in the third. Visceral gout, indicative of diclofenac poisoning, was the largest single cause of death in vultures examined. Annual adult mortality from diclofenac poisoning was significantly positively correlated with annual population declines at each colony indicating a direct causal relationship. Visceral gout occurred in temporal and spatial clusters suggesting multiple point sources of diclofenac exposure. The spatial and temporal distribution of dead vultures and approximate time since death were used to estimate minimum rates at which colonies encountered carcasses with sufficient diclofenac to cause mortality of 1.26–1.88 carcasses per colony per month. By estimating total carcass consumption at each colony, the percentage of carcasses contaminated with diclofenac was calculated as 1.41–3.02%, exceeding the minimum required to have caused the observed population decline. With populations declining by approximately 50% annually, the long term survival of Gyps vultures in South Asia will require the removal of diclofenac from vulture food and establishment of captive populations for future restoration once the environment is free from contamination.
46
Danko, Štefan, Andreas Ranner, Jan Lontkowski, István Sándor, Jirí Šírek, and Igor Gorban. "Occurrence of the griffon vulture Gyps fulvus and the black vulture Aegypius monachus in central europe in the 21st century." Slovak Raptor Journal 7, no. 1 (January 1, 2014): 1–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/srj-2013-0004.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract The paper presents an overview of the occurrence of two vulture species: the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) and the black vulture (Aegypius monachus) in Central Europe in the 21 st century. The number of records of griffon vultures has been increasing in recent years. After a first peak in the year 2007, the number of records has been steadily increasing again since 201 0. In some years (especially 2007 and 201 2) the occurrences showed the characteristics of an influx, similar to the development in Western and Western-Central Europe. In addition, this period coincides with changes in European sanitary legislation affecting the availability of livestock carcasses. Most of the records come from the summer months. It is likely that the increased occurrence is a result of increasing populations in South-Eastern but also in South-Western Europe, as well as being influenced by food shortages in south-western populations (mainly Spain). Both of these regions can be considered as likely origins of the birds observed in Eastern-Central Europe. The number of records of black vultures do not show a similar pattern, although there are indications that birds from the reintroduced population in central France also turn up as far afield as Eastern Europe.
47
VIRANI, MUNIR Z., ARA MONADJEM, SIMON THOMSETT, and CORINNE KENDALL. "Seasonal variation in breeding Rüppell’s Vultures Gyps rueppellii at Kwenia, southern Kenya and implications for conservation." Bird Conservation International 22, no. 3 (March 28, 2012): 260–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270911000505.
Full textAbstract:
SummaryVulture populations have been declining globally and regionally within Africa. Rüppell’s Vulture Gyps rueppellii is currently listed as ‘Near Threatened’ and numbers of the species, along with African White-backed Vultures G. africanus, have declined by 52% in and around the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem. A large breeding colony of Rüppell’s Vulture at Kwenia, southern Kenya, was monitored between 2002 and 2009. Around 150–200 adults were present on each visit, with up to 64 simultaneously active nests. The date of egg-laying differed considerably between years, with two discrete breeding attempts in some years. Nests were not positioned randomly across the cliff face and the number of active nests was related to rainfall in the previous year. The large ungulate migration of the Mara-Serengeti provides a vital foraging ground for the species. Conservation implications of the loss of vultures are discussed.
48
Forbes, Neil A., and Karen Homer-Forbes. "Veterinary professionals ‘giving something back’." Companion Animal 24, no. 8 (September 2, 2019): 2–7. http://dx.doi.org/10.12968/coan.2019.0037.
Full textAbstract:
Vultures in Africa as well as Asia have been and continue to be severely impacted by human activities. Veterinary professionals have the chance to help vulture (and other) conservation programmes, ‘give something back’ by training local professionals in relevant practical skills.
49
Margalida, Antoni, Markus S. Braun, Juan José Negro, Karl Schulze-Hagen, and Michael Wink. "Cosmetic colouring by Bearded Vultures Gypaetus barbatus: still no evidence for an antibacterial function." PeerJ 7 (May 15, 2019): e6783. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6783.
Full textAbstract:
Bearded Vultures regularly visit ferruginous springs for cosmetic purposes to obtain their reddish plumage colouration. Different hypotheses have been proposed to explain this deliberate application of adventitious colouration: (1) to signal individual dominance status; (2) to exploit an anti-bacterial effect of iron oxides or ochre to reduce feather degradation by bacteria and, in parallel (3) to enable incubating birds to transfer this protection to their developing embryos to increase hatching success. Here, we re-evaluate the antibacterial hypothesis using three experimental approaches: (a) by applying feather-degrading bacteria to stained and unstained bearded vulture feathers; (b) by assessing the antibacterial activity of ochre; and (c) by comparing the breeding success of orange individuals with pale ones. Our findings suggest that the in vitro addition of feather degrading Bacillus licheniformis to naturally stained Bearded Vulture feathers did not retard feather degradation compared to controls. Iron particles from red soil (ochre) or iron salts had no antibacterial effect on the growth of three species of bacteria (Escherichia coli, Kocuria rhizophila and Bacillus licheniformis), incubated either in the dark or under visible light. Finally, breeding success did not differ between territories occupied by pale individuals versus orange ones. These results run counter to the hypothesis that iron oxides have an antibacterial role in Bearded Vultures. The use of red soils by Bearded Vultures may function as a territorial status signal, but may also be involved in other processes, such as pair formation and the long-term maintenance of the pair bond, as suggested for the closely related Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus.
50
Chakarov, Nayden, and Guillermo Blanco. "Blood Parasites in Sympatric Vultures: Role of Nesting Habits and Effects on Body Condition." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 5 (March 2, 2021): 2431. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052431.
Full textAbstract:
Avian haemosporidians are a common and widespread group of vector-borne parasites capable of infecting most bird species around the world. They can negatively affect host condition and fitness. Vultures are assumed to have a very low prevalence of these blood parasites, likely due to their strong immunity; however, factors contributing to variation in host exposure and susceptibility to haemosporidians are complex, and supporting evidence is still very limited. We analyzed blood samples collected from nestlings of three vulture species in Spain over 18 years, and used updated nested-PCR protocols capable of detecting all haesmosporidian cytochrome b lineages typical for diurnal birds of prey (Accipitriformes). Similarly to previous studies, we found low haemosporidian prevalence in cliff-breeding species, with Leucocytozoon as the only represented blood parasite genus: 3.1% in griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) (n = 128) and 5.3% in Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) (n = 114). In contrast, the tree-breeding cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) had a substantially higher prevalence: 10.3% (n = 146). By far the most common lineage in Spanish scavenging raptors was the Leucocytozoon lineage CIAE02. No effects of nestling age and sex, or temporal trends in prevalence were found, but an effect of nest habitat (tree-nest vs. cliff-nest) was found in the griffon vulture. These patterns may be explained by a preference of vectors to forage in and around trees rather than on cliffs and wide open spaces. We found an apparent detrimental effect of haemosporidians on body mass of nestling cinereous vultures. Further research is needed to evaluate the pathogenicity of each haemosporidian lineage and their interaction with the immune system of nestlings, especially if compromised due to pollution with pharmaceuticals and infection by bacterial and mycotic pathogens.