The Past



The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

L. P. Hartley   1895-1972 

Wednesday 6 August 2008

Vultures

The RSPB is an organisation in the UK that helps to conserve bird life not only in the UK but worldwide. 

I read in their current literature that  vultures in the Indian sub-continent now face extinction. Ten to fifteen years ago there were 40 million but today there is only one percent of that total alive.

The cause is a veterinary drug - diclofenac - now banned in India, Pakistan and Nepal that is used to treat cattle. The vultures feed on dead cattle and do not take kindly to the drug which is lethal to them.

Dogs and rats now feed on the dead cattle carcasses - these pose a serious threat of disease to the local population. The task now is to clear the countries of contaminated carcasses and start a breeding programme for vultures.

Look at http://www.rspb.co.uk/ for more information on birds in the UK and worldwide.

2 comments:

Texas Travelers said...

Interesting. I had not heard about this.

Thanks for sharing and thanks for the recent visit.

Troy and Martha

Baker Watson said...

That is really quite a reduction in a short time span. Hopefully they can reverse that. If they can completely eliminate that one problem then perhaps the population can rebound.

It is interesting that so many of the scavengers that are so needed in the natural world are not generally looked upon favorably by most people. They are not pretty, do not have beautiful songs, nor are the young cute and cuddly. Nevertheless, they fill a vital role in the ecosystems of the world.

Penguins - move your cursor and take them for a walk !!

Say it as it is ......


Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land amongst the stars.

Look around !!!

What is this life, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare?


W. H. Davies  1870-1940