Talk:Vulture
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[edit] Diclofenac and conservation
Many vultures are endangered and conservationists decided to breed some in captivity for 20-30 years in order to protect and make the species larger; these conservationists are trying to get enough birds into a protected area before they all disappear. Throughout the past decade, the Asian species of vultures, (white-backed vulture, long-billed vulture, and slender-billed vulture), have declined in their population by more than 95%. One reason why the vulture species is dieing out is because of kidney failure; this happens because the livestock that the vulture catches was often treated with diclofenac, (a painkiller like Aspirin or Motrin). Conservationists decided to put a stop to this by putting a ban on the veterinary use of diclofenac. Rick Watson, international programs director for the Peregrine Fund in Idaho, said that it would take a long time before the drug is completely removed from nature. Some conservationists realize that since the population is declining so rapidly, they have to act quickly. These conservationists have decided to collect 25 pairs of vultures from each species and then bring them to 3 different facilities where the birds can reproduce. Once the environment is rid of diclofenac, the conservationists will let the young vultures live in the wild. However, the cost of this project has reached about $1 million for it to be run in the US each year! Also, other groups around the world take care of sick or injured birds. The one species of vulture that is the closest to extinct is the slender-billed vultures. One conservationist stated that he wasn’t sure if this type of vulture was even breeding anymore. The loss of these vultures, besides the unfortunate fact that they would disappear forever, can create a health hazard because of the dead animal carcasses that are left uneaten. These have been linked to spreading diseases such as anthrax. Also, other animals that have been eating the carcasses usually eaten by vultures, have increased in population. Some of these animals include wild dogs that can spread rabies and they can physically attack people. Hopefully these conservationists will be able to use their bright ideas to keep the vultures from becoming extinct.
i got this information from an article that i got from the following link: [[1]] this is the url: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/05/0511_040511_vultures.html
This is the White-Backed Vulture Image:White-backed vulture.bmp
[edit] Vultures in India
About this statement:
- The decline has led to problems for certain human communities, such as Parsis, that rely on vultures to eat the bodies of their dead.
Are there any cultures in India other than the Parsis who rely on vultures to eat their dead? Offhand I seem to remember reading of Buddhist monks in Tibet who disposed of their deceased brethren in a similar fashion, so perhaps the same is true of Buddhists in India? --Saforrest 05:43, 18 June 2006 (UTC)
- See article on Sky burial. Snowman 17:38, 22 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Vultures in culture
Sould this have own pages or page? and linked to disambiguation page. Snowman 17:38, 22 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] List of vultures
Is a formal list of vulture species needed on this page to assist classification? Snowman 17:43, 22 June 2006 (UTC)
- I would say not - they are in two different families and best listed there, especially as there is no geographical overlap. jimfbleak 05:27, 16 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Potentially remarkable fact about anthrax
I recently heard on Animal Planet that vultures are the only animal species immune to anthrax. Can anyone confirm/disprove? --Gutza T T+ 22:56, 15 July 2006 (UTC)
Me again. After a quick Google search, it appears that "birds usually are naturally resistant to anthrax. Buzzards and vultures are naturally resistant to anthrax [...]". I think this should be mentioned in the article--any opinions against it? --Gutza T T+ 23:01, 15 July 2006 (UTC)
- This article does not give a primary source, and may just be repeating speculation. As an American site, it may well also be using buzzard as a synonym for New World vulture, rather than to refer to Buteos. Does the article mean that the two distinct families, the American Cathartidae, and the Old World vultures share this immunity? jimfbleak 05:23, 16 July 2006 (UTC)
I'm by no means an expert, note how my interest on this factoid was aroused by a comment on Animal Planet--therefore I can't comment on technical details in any satisfactory way. I simply wanted to raise the issue for someone more knowledgeable to comment on it. Even if it isn't true, the very fact that it isn't should be mentioned in the article, given the relatively large assortment of sites which hold that to be true. (Personally I doubt the statement is false, but it's just a relatively uninformed opinion.) --Gutza T T+ 09:54, 16 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Translations
It might be informative to more people if this article was translated to Indian languages (to other language wikis) by anyone who has the appropriate language skills. 62.173.88.59 18:17, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
