What s eating the vulture?
Flight into obllivion
The vulture is disappearing in India. Nobody knows why. Some experts blame pesticides
O n october 3, 1998, the Centre For Science and Environment ( cse ), New Delhi, received a letter from Asad R Rahmani, director, Bombay Natural History Society ( bnhs ), Mumbai, mentioning a drastic decline in the vulture population of the Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur. Rahmani wrote how, within a short span, the number of vultures in the region dropped from 2,000 to just four. He cited observations of his colleague Vibhu Prakash, senior scientist at bnhs 's research station in Bharatpur, who says in the 1980s it was natural to find as many as 350 vulture nests in Bharatpur. But in 1998, Prakash found only four. Sudden declines in bird population is not new for Bharatpur. Between 1987 and 1990, says a bnhs report, some 18 sarus cranes and over 50 ring doves were found dead in the region. More birds dying within the park premises is also a strong possibility. cse sent its environmental toxicologist Amit Nair to Bharatpur to collect samples of animal carcasses