The decline in the population of vultures has prompted the University of Mysore to take up studies for their conservation and to set up a vulture gene bank on the Manasagangotri campus here. The Department of Studies in Genetics and Genomics on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Karnataka Forest Department for a study on biodiversity of vultures in Ramadevarabetta in Ramanagaram using DNA profiling techniques.
Vice-Chancellor G. Hemantha Kumar and Deputy Conservator of Forests, Ramanagaram, Devaraju signed the MoU and exchanged the documents, as the genetics department has proposed to start vulture genome studies seeing the urgency of saving the species from getting extinct.
In his inaugural address, Mr. Kumar said the university and the Forest Department have joined hands to tackle the diminishing population of vultures. The stability of the vulture population is at a crossroads and the day has come when “Jatayu” will be extinct soon. “I understand that the survival of any animal is due to the gene’s environmental interaction based on basic principles of genetics. As I am told, through the application of knowledge of genetics and genomics, we can foster progress in understanding the diminishing population of vultures,” he said.
Mr. Kumar said the Department of Genetics and Genomics has also proposed to organise lecture series to the officers from the Forest Department on the importance of the application of genetics in the wildlife management as there is a great relevance of genetics field to wildlife biology.
Chairperson of DoS in Genetics and Genomics S.S. Malini, in her opening remarks, said vultures are an integral part of our ecosystem as nine species of vultures were found living in India but most of them are now facing the threat of extinction after a rapid and major population collapse in recent decades.
In the early 1980s, three species of Gyps vultures – the white-backed vulture, the long-billed vulture, and the slender-billed vulture – had a combined estimated population of 40 million in South Asia. However, as of 2017, the total population numbered only 19,000, a decrease by about 95%, she said.
A major contributing factor in declining populations of vultures is believed to be widespread use of drugs such as diclofenac, once commonly used as a livestock anti-inflammatory drug, and also habitat destruction. Veterinary usage of diclofenac has been banned in India since 2006. The IUCN red data book has listed Gyps bengalensis as “critically endangered”, Ms. Malini said.
She said the dramatic vulture decline seen across India presents a range of ecological threats, by influencing the numbers and distribution of other scavenging species. Increased feral dog populations have been reported across the country, posing many associated disease risks such as rabies to humans and wildlife. India already accounts for a very high incidence of rabies cases and an absolute shortage of quality anti-rabies vaccine in rural areas can aggravate the problem even further, she explained.
“Prevalence and concentration of diclofenac residues in ungulate carcasses can further threaten India’s endangered vulture populations. A small proportion of ungulate carcasses containing lethal levels of diclofenac is enough to cause rapid decline of vulture population,” she warned.
Ms, Malini, in her comments, said when animals die near watering holes there is an imminent danger of contamination resulting in quick spread of infections and mass death. But vultures devour the carcasses in totality thereby preventing a tragic mishap.
On the occasion, Vibhu Prakash Mathur, deputy director, BNHS and head, Vulture Conservation Programme, gave a talk on vulture conservation in India: Issues and challenges.
Mr. Devaraju delivered a talk on animal human conflicts while Yedukondal V., DCF, Kollegal, spoke on the application of genetics in wildlife conservation and management.
