34 vultures die after consuming poisoned cattle carcasses in Assam

The dead vultures belonged to Himalayan griffon, slender-billed and white-backed species, efforts for conservation of which is underway in Assam

At least 34 vultures belonging to critically endangered species died since Tuesday in eastern Assam's Tinsukia district after consuming carcass of seven cows, which died due to "poisoning" of a nearby waterbody by unidentified persons.

The dead vultures belonged to Himalayan griffon, slender-billed and white-backed species, efforts for conservation of which is underway in the state. Slender-billed vultures, numbering less than 1,000 in the country, are found only in Assam now.

Another 14 vultures were rescued in serious condition and efforts were underway to save them.

"The number of deaths will be more as some might have died inside jungles or in their nests and could not be traced. It is suspected that some locals had used pesticides for fishing in the waterbody at a place called Dhulijan under Talap police station. Seven cattle died after consuming water from there. The villagers dumped the cattle carcasses in the open field and the vultures died possibly after consuming the cattle flesh," Mridupawan Phukan, a local conservationist told DH on Thursday.

"This is the breeding season of the vultures. And it is possible that many young vultures will die inside their nests as their parents died in this incident," Phukan said.

Conservationists say that survival of the vultures is very important as they are nature’s most efficient scavengers. They help in the disposal of carcasses when domestic animals die. They can digest disease-causing bacteria found in rotting flesh and thereby helps humans to prevent the outbreak and spread of infectious diseases such as anthrax, foot and mouth disease and rabies.

But the population of slender-billed vultures has come down by almost 99%, mainly due to the use of diclofenac, a banned drug, and other pesticides. "This is a big set back as Tinsukia is one of the hotspots of the vulture population. But we must take strict action against those poisoning the water bodies or dead carcass if we want to save the vulture species from being extinct," Phukan said.