Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Environment
Why in News?
A recent study published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa highlighted electrocution from high-tension power infrastructure as an underreported threat to vultures.
- Observation – Relocating a livestock carcass dumping site 2.4 km away from hazardous power infrastructure at Sudhauwala, Dehradun, helped reduce vulture mortality.
About study
- Location – Sudhauwala, Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
- Electrocution deaths about 46 vulture carcasses were recorded at the site.
- Intervention – Carcass dump relocated 2.4 km away in April 2015.
- Result – Vultures continued using the new site, with no mortality events recorded during limited post-relocation monitoring.
- Other raptors recorded at the relocated site included Black Kite (Milvus migrans) and Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela).
A raptor is a carnivorous bird of prey or a type of small-to-medium predatory dinosaur.
Major Threats to Vultures
- Electrocution from power infrastructure
- Poisoning
- Veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
- Food scarcity
- Habitat loss
Conservation Significance
- Vultures are long-lived scavengers and highly vulnerable to human-induced mortality.
- Relocating carcass dumps away from dangerous power infrastructure can be a simple, site-specific conservation measure.
- The Dehradun case demonstrates that managing the location of food sources can reduce interaction between vultures and hazardous power infrastructure.
Reference
The Hindu| Survival Challenges for Vultures in India
