White-rumped Vulture – 99% Drop in Population

Conservation status: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
Common name: White-Rumped Vulture
Scientific name: Gyps bengalensis
Type: Bird
Diet: Carrion
Length: 75 – 93 cm
Weight: 3.5– 7.5 kg

It is almost frightening to see a species that was once dubbed as “the most abundant large bird of prey in the world” to shrink from several million to less than ten thousand individuals remaining in the wild.

Like other vultures in India, this bird has fallen victim to diclofenac (a medicine used to treat livestock) poisoning. In Southeast Asia, the reduced availability of dead livestock (which decreases food supply for vultures) due to improved management is believed to be another cause for the fast decline in population.

As vultures provide enormous value to the ecosystem by disposing of millions of pounds of decaying flesh that could threaten other animals and the environment, the conservation of the vulture population is important for our sake as well.

Video:

References:

1. “White-Rumped Vulture Conservation”. IUCN, https://www.iucn.org/asia/countries/bangladesh/white-rumped-vulture-conservation.
2. “The IUCN Red List Of Threatened Species”. IUCN Red List Of Threatened Species, https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22695194/118307773.
3. “The Story Of The White-Rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis)”. 2013, http://blog.nus.edu.sg/lsm4262species/2013/04/16/gyps-bengalensis/#.
4. “White-Rumped Vulture – An Overview | ScienceDirect Topics”. Sciencedirect.Com, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/white-rumped-vulture.