The Survivors

This is a day in the life of vultures at the Pinjore Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centre in Haryana. With three kinds of Gyps vultures,the Oriental white-backed vulture,the long-billed vulture and the slender-billed vulture listed as “critically endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List,we are more likely to catch a sun-bathing vulture in an aviary than in the wild. While the rapid decline of vultures,due to veterinary use of the non-steroidal,anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac used on livestock is common knowledge,the first results of the adherence to the ban are now beginning to show. Veterinary use of the drug was banned in May 2006,and in 2008,the Drugs Controller General of India decreed that anyone caught manufacturing,retailing or using diclofenac for veterinary purposes could be imprisoned.

A May 2011 article in Public Library of Science’s peer-reviewed online resource PloS One,(“Effectiveness of Action in India to reduce Exposure of Gyps Vultures to the Toxic Veterinary Drug Diclofenac”) indicates that the rate of decline of the Oriental white-backed vulture in India has decreased to 40 per cent of the rate before the ban. By analysing data of carcasses collected across India between 2004 and 2008,the survey concluded that annual death rates dropped from 80 per cent before the ban to 18 per cent. The study notes,“…the expected rate of decline of the Indian oriental white-backed vulture population has been cut by more than half compared with what it was before the ban.” While this may seem like a reason for relief,Chris Bowden,International Species Recovery Officer at The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds,UK,says,“This indicates some progress but not nearly enough to save the species.”

While conservationists and scientists are quick to caution that vultures continue to be critically threatened,the effects of the ban and projects like the Pinjore breeding centre provide a glimmer of hope for this social bird of bald-head and dark-plumage. As Asad Rahmani,director,Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS),notes,“The decline has been reduced,not stopped. We have to stop the decline to bring back the vultures.” He says that today vultures are surviving in the protected areas of central India like Bandhavgarh and Kanha,where they feed on wild-hoofed animals unexposed to diclofenac.

This reduction in the decline has been possible because pharmaceutical companies and vets didn’t oppose the ban on diclofenac,as meloxicam was discovered to be an alternate painkiller for livestock and was found to be safe for vultures as well. However,conservationists say that the availability of diclofenac for human use continues to pose problems. Bowden says,“We urgently request further measures to ban the production and sale of human diclofenac in any vials larger than 3ml. The major loophole is that human formulations are still freely available for sale,even in large vials,which are convenient for vets and clearly not suitable for human use.”

With vulture numbers having declined by 99 per cent in the last two decades,Dr Vibhu Prakash,deputy director (ornithology),BNHS,says the decline of the resident Gyps vultures (found mainly in India,Pakistan,Nepal and Bangladesh) has been the fastest ever recorded for any species. To recover from this precipice of extinction,the use of diclofenac needs to be completely stopped and captive breeding must be undertaken. A day at the Pinjore centre with Dr Prakash and his wife Nikita Prakash,who is a technical assistant there,proves how scientific breakthroughs attempt to out-run foreseeable extinction. Located 30 minutes from the Kalka railway station,this five-acre captive breeding centre provides a natural setting for the birds. Kept in 100 ft by 40 ft by 20 ft high enclosures,the birds live a secluded life,invisible to visitors.

Vultures live up to 50 years,pair for life,and lay only one egg a year. To obtain more eggs,avi-culturalists practise double-clutching. Within 10-15 days of the bird laying its egg,if the egg is removed,the bird,still in breeding condition,will lay again. The first egg can be removed and incubated artificially through a painstaking process,requiring precise monitoring and intense care,while the second egg will be nurtured by the parents. During the year-long process,from incubation to raising the fledgling,the scientists must be careful of “imprinting”,meaning that the vulture nestling must not learn behaviour patterns from the human care-giver. While Pinjore houses 133 vultures now,visitors cannot see the birds except through CCTV footage. Nerves wrack vultures and when disturbed or exposed to strangers,they expel a noxious vomit. While the stench drives away intruders,the excretions can lead to the bird’s dehydration. With each bird eating up to 4 kg of goat meat a week,the menu doesn’t come cheap. “We don’t want them to throw up that food,” says Nikita.

Vibhu and Nikita Prakash hope to release the first batch of artificially incubated birds in 2016,in batches of 20-25 birds. Of the 16 fledglings in Pinjore at present,most have been artificially incubated. They will be released along with a wild captive bird,which will act as a guide in the wild,teaching them how to obtain food.

Other measures like “vulture safe zones”,where in a radius of 100km,the environment is kept diclofenac-free,are being taken up,but aren’t widespread as yet. Katerniaghat Foundation,a Lucknow-based NGO,has taken early steps in creating a vulture-safe zone in the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh. The Jivdaya Charitable Trust in Ahmedabad provides medical attention to vultures and also helps monitor and rehabilitate them. Other steps like “vulture restaurants”,where diclofenac-free carcasses are left for vultures to eat,sound like a good idea,but have proved less successful in the field. As Bowden says,“The main role of restaurants is in raising awareness about diclofenac.”

If the loopholes are plugged,and the success of captive breeding and the reduction in vulture death rates continues,we might yet see the return of these large raptors,soaring in the sky,searching for their dinner and completing the circle of life.