Arulagam Foundation’s Instagram video throws mild on why the much-maligned vultures are very important for an infection management in our ecosystem.
Did you already know our feathery pals may very well be our allies in mitigating the unfold of illness that may in any other case infect different animals, together with livestock and people?
An Instagram submit by Arulagam Foundation (@Arulagam), an NGO that works with vulture conservation within the Nilgiris Biosphere has provide you with a brief video that explains why vultures are protectors of nature.
Often reviled for his or her look and feeding behaviour, vultures are the scavengers who do the work of cleansing up, and protecting the ecosystem wholesome.
“The beauty is, despite feeding on infected carcass, vultures do not get infected. The acids in their stomach are potent enough to kill the pathogen. Thus, the chain of infection is broken.
It invisibly controls the spread of harmful pathogens causing deadly anthrax, cholera, foot and mouth disease, rabies and distemper,” Bharathidasan says. The birds additionally stop the contamination of water sources, particularly within the wild.
When animals die close to watering gap, there may be an imminent hazard of contamination leading to a fast unfold of infections and mass dying. But vultures devour the carcasses in totality thereby stopping a tragic mishap. Despite this, their significance within the ecosystem is just not understood, he remarks.
“In the last four years, the population has grown by may be 10 percent. One has to learn about Nature and the purpose of scavenging to understand why vultures matter.”
Restoring the inhabitants is an uphill process as vultures are sluggish breeders, says Bharathidasan. “If they become extinct, there will be a huge ripple effect. Other scavengers like rats and dogs may take over, temporarily, but with that comes problems like increased incidence of rabies.
According to scientific studies, a veterinary, non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug called diclofenac administered to cattle had led to a catastrophic decline of vulture species in the South Asian region.
Though diclofenac is now banned, other equally harmful drugs are still in use,” he provides. Bharathidasan, nevertheless, is hopeful that vultures will likely be again in giant numbers and circling the blue skies.
