Misplaced Pages

Old World vulture: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 11:21, 15 June 2009 edit69.22.238.202 (talk)No edit summary← Previous edit Revision as of 09:08, 28 June 2009 edit undoBathrobe (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users8,085 edits Move material from article on Vultures. The material is all related to Old-World Vultures. (Material on New-world vultures is all found at that article)Next edit →
Line 1: Line 1:

{{Expand|date=February 2008}}
{{Taxobox {{Taxobox
| name = Old World vultures | name = Old World vultures
Line 22: Line 22:


Both Old World and New World ] are scavenging ]s, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead ]s. Old World vultures find carcasses exclusively by sight. A particular characteristic of many vultures is a bald ], devoid of ]s. If vultures had head feathers, they would become spattered with ] and other fluids when the vultures ate flesh from carcasses, and thus would be difficult to keep clean. Both Old World and New World ] are scavenging ]s, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead ]s. Old World vultures find carcasses exclusively by sight. A particular characteristic of many vultures is a bald ], devoid of ]s. If vultures had head feathers, they would become spattered with ] and other fluids when the vultures ate flesh from carcasses, and thus would be difficult to keep clean.

Some species of vulture are very susceptible to ] poisoning, which causes the birds to suffer from renal failure and death, and this had caused a very marked decrease in wild vulture populations in ], where diclofenac used for farm animals has directly led to poisoning of vultures. Often farm animal carcases containing diclofenac in their flesh are left out in to open for vultures to eat and tidy up. ] has been found to be harmless to vultures and should prove an acceptable alternative to diclofenac.


== Species == == Species ==
Line 53: Line 51:
* ], ''Trigonoceps occipitalis'' * ], ''Trigonoceps occipitalis''
<!--- Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 29 (2001) 485–512 --> <!--- Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 29 (2001) 485–512 -->

== Threat due to diclofenac poisoning ==
] poisoning has caused the vulture population in ] and ] to decline by up to 95% in the past decade, and two or three of the species of vulture in South Asia are nearing extinction.<ref name = "painkillers 2006"/> This has been caused by the practice of medicating working farm animals with diclofenac, which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (]) with anti-inflammatory and pain killing actions. Diclofenac administration keeps animals that are ill or in pain working on the land for longer, but, if the ill animals die, their carcasses contain diclofenac. Farmers leave the dead animals out in the open, relying on vultures to tidy up. Diclofenac present in carcass flesh is eaten by vultures, which are sensitive to diclofenac, and they suffer kidney failure, ], and death as a result of diclofenac ]ing.

The decline in vultures has led to hygiene problems in India as carcasses of dead animals now tend to rot, or be eaten by ]s or ]s, rather than be tidied up by vultures. ] among these other scavengers is a major health threat. India has one of the world's highest incidences of rabies.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2244672 | title = Rabies risk among travelers |journal = ] |date = 2008-26-2 | pmid = 18299544 | doi = 10.1503/cmaj.071443 | author = Di Quinzio, M. | volume = 178 | pages = 567}}</ref>

The decline in vultures causes particular problems for certain communities, such as the ], who practice ]s, where the human dead are put on the top of a ] and are eaten by vultures, leaving only dry bones.

] (another NSAID) has been found to be harmless to vultures and should prove an acceptable alternative to diclofenac.<ref name = "painkillers 2006"/> The Government of India banned diclofenac, but over a year later, in 2007, it continued to be sold and is still a problem in other parts of the world.<ref name = "painkillers 2006">{{cite journal |url =http://www.newscientisttech.com/article.ns?id=mg19225774.300&feedId=online-news_rss20 |title = Painkillers turned bird killers |journal = ] |date = 2006-11-14 |issue = 2577 |pages = p7}}</ref>

== In culture ==
=== Ancient Egypt ===
In Southern Africa, the name for a ] is synonymous with the term applied to ]rs, because these vultures are always seen in pairs, mother and child remaining closely bonded together. Pairing, bonding, protecting, and loving are essential attributes associated along with the vulture's size and its ability to soar high in the sky.

The ]ians considered the vulture to be an excellent mother, and the wide wingspan was seen as all-encompassing and providing a protective cover to her infants. The white ] was the animal picked to represent ], the mother goddess and protective patron of southern, Upper Egypt. The vulture ] <hiero>A</hiero> was the Egyptian sign used for the sound (''3'') including words such as ''mother'', ''prosperous'', ''grandmother'', and ''ruler''.

=== Hindu mythology ===

]]]
In the ] epic ], there appear two demi-gods who had the form of vultures, ] (]: जटायू, ''jatāyū'') and his brother ], with whom are associated stories of courage and self-sacrifice.

When young, the two used to compete as to who could fly higher. On one such instance Jatayu flew so high that he was about to get seared by sun's flames. Sampaati saved his brother by spreading his own wings and thus shielding Jatayu from the hot flames. In the process, Sampaati himself got injured and lost his wings. As a result Sampaati lived wingless for the rest of his life.

When Jatayu was old, he witnessed the beautiful ], wife of the god ], being kidnapped by ]. Jatayu tried to save her but was defeated and mortally wounded. When he lay dying he was still able to tell ] and his brother ] in which direction Sita was being taken, facilitating her eventual rescue.

===Tibet===
In the Tibetan practice of ], vultures and other birds eat human corpses.

===Contemporary concepts===
Although the vulture plays an important natural role, in the Western world, the image of the vulture is quite negative, with 'vulture' used as a ] for those who prey on the weak or dying, with associated negative connotations of cowardice and selfishness.

== Conservation efforts ==
A project named "Vulture Restaurant" is underway in ] in an effort to conserve the dwindling number of vultures. The "restaurant" is an open grassy area where naturally dying, sick, and old ]s are fed to the vultures.<ref></ref><ref></ref>


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist}} {{Reflist}}

* Ferguson-Lees, Christie, Franklin, Mead and Burton ''Raptors of the World'' ISBN 0713680261
* Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ''Birds of India'' ISBN 0-691-04910-6
* Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey and Warwick Tarboton, ''SASOL Birds of Southern Africa'' (Struik 2002) ISBN 1-86872-721-1
*
* "India's Vultures Fall Prey to a Drug in the Cattle They Feed On", New York Times, Amelia Gentleman, March 28, 2006.
* "Rare breed of vulture spotted in Goa after eight years" The Times of India, Preetu Nair, May 9 2009, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Rare-breed-of-vulture-spotted-in-Goa-after-eight-years/articleshow/4501225.cms

==External links==
* on the Internet Bird Collection
*Indian bird resources
* http://www.vulture.org.yu/
*
*


] ]

Revision as of 09:08, 28 June 2009

Old World vultures
Lappet-faced Vultures (left) and a White-backed Vulture
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Subfamily: Aegypiinae
Genera

See text.

Old World vultures belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, buzzards, kites, and hawks.

Old World vultures are not closely related to the superficially similar New World vultures and condors, and do not share that group's good sense of smell. The similarities between the two groups of vultures are due to convergent evolution rather than a close relationship. They were widespread in both the Old World and North America, during the Neogene. Old World vultures are probably a polyphyletic group within Accipitridae, with Palm-nut Vulture, Egyptian Vulture and Lammergeier separate from the others.

Both Old World and New World vultures are scavenging birds, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals. Old World vultures find carcasses exclusively by sight. A particular characteristic of many vultures is a bald head, devoid of feathers. If vultures had head feathers, they would become spattered with blood and other fluids when the vultures ate flesh from carcasses, and thus would be difficult to keep clean.

Species

Genus Aegypius

Genus Gypaetus

Genus Gypohierax

Genus Gyps

Genus Necrosyrtes

Genus Neophron

Genus Sarcogyps

Genus Torgos

Genus Trigonoceps

Threat due to diclofenac poisoning

Diclofenac poisoning has caused the vulture population in India and Pakistan to decline by up to 95% in the past decade, and two or three of the species of vulture in South Asia are nearing extinction. This has been caused by the practice of medicating working farm animals with diclofenac, which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) with anti-inflammatory and pain killing actions. Diclofenac administration keeps animals that are ill or in pain working on the land for longer, but, if the ill animals die, their carcasses contain diclofenac. Farmers leave the dead animals out in the open, relying on vultures to tidy up. Diclofenac present in carcass flesh is eaten by vultures, which are sensitive to diclofenac, and they suffer kidney failure, visceral gout, and death as a result of diclofenac poisoning.

The decline in vultures has led to hygiene problems in India as carcasses of dead animals now tend to rot, or be eaten by rats or wild dogs, rather than be tidied up by vultures. Rabies among these other scavengers is a major health threat. India has one of the world's highest incidences of rabies.

The decline in vultures causes particular problems for certain communities, such as the Parsi, who practice sky burials, where the human dead are put on the top of a Tower of Silence and are eaten by vultures, leaving only dry bones.

Meloxicam (another NSAID) has been found to be harmless to vultures and should prove an acceptable alternative to diclofenac. The Government of India banned diclofenac, but over a year later, in 2007, it continued to be sold and is still a problem in other parts of the world.

In culture

Ancient Egypt

In Southern Africa, the name for a Nubian vulture is synonymous with the term applied to lovers, because these vultures are always seen in pairs, mother and child remaining closely bonded together. Pairing, bonding, protecting, and loving are essential attributes associated along with the vulture's size and its ability to soar high in the sky.

The Egyptians considered the vulture to be an excellent mother, and the wide wingspan was seen as all-encompassing and providing a protective cover to her infants. The white Egyptian vulture was the animal picked to represent Nekhbet, the mother goddess and protective patron of southern, Upper Egypt. The vulture hieroglyph

A

was the Egyptian sign used for the sound (3) including words such as mother, prosperous, grandmother, and ruler.

Hindu mythology

Ravana cuts Jatayu's wings, by Ravi Varma

In the Hindu epic Ramayana, there appear two demi-gods who had the form of vultures, Jatayu (Sanskrit: जटायू, jatāyū) and his brother Sampaati, with whom are associated stories of courage and self-sacrifice.

When young, the two used to compete as to who could fly higher. On one such instance Jatayu flew so high that he was about to get seared by sun's flames. Sampaati saved his brother by spreading his own wings and thus shielding Jatayu from the hot flames. In the process, Sampaati himself got injured and lost his wings. As a result Sampaati lived wingless for the rest of his life.

When Jatayu was old, he witnessed the beautiful Sita, wife of the god Rama, being kidnapped by Ravana. Jatayu tried to save her but was defeated and mortally wounded. When he lay dying he was still able to tell Rama and his brother Lakshmana in which direction Sita was being taken, facilitating her eventual rescue.

Tibet

In the Tibetan practice of sky burial, vultures and other birds eat human corpses.

Contemporary concepts

Although the vulture plays an important natural role, in the Western world, the image of the vulture is quite negative, with 'vulture' used as a metaphor for those who prey on the weak or dying, with associated negative connotations of cowardice and selfishness.

Conservation efforts

A project named "Vulture Restaurant" is underway in Nepal in an effort to conserve the dwindling number of vultures. The "restaurant" is an open grassy area where naturally dying, sick, and old cows are fed to the vultures.

References

  1. Lerner HR, Mindell DP (2005). "Phylogeny of eagles, Old World vultures, and other Accipitridae based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA". Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 37 (2): 327–46. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.04.010. PMID 15925523.
  2. ^ "Painkillers turned bird killers". New Scientist (2577): p7. 2006-11-14. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  3. Di Quinzio, M. (2008-26-2). "Rabies risk among travelers". CMAJ. 178: 567. doi:10.1503/cmaj.071443. PMID 18299544. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. BBC News-Nepal's 'restaurant' for vultures
  5. A vulture restaurant in South Africa

External links

Categories: