Feral dogs ‘a major threat’ to vultures in Thar desert, study finds
A new study published in Biological Conservation reveals that feral dogs are significantly disrupting the feeding habits of endangered vultures in India's Thar desert. The presence of these dogs forces vultures to spend less time at carcass dumpsites, further threatening populations already decimated by past exposure to the drug diclofenac.
Why it matters
Vultures are critical ecosystem cleaners, and their decline poses significant public health risks; understanding new threats like feral dog competition is essential for conservation efforts.
Feral dogs ‘a major threat’ to vultures in Thar desert, study finds center The numbers of the Himalayan griffon (shown) and the Eurasian griffon have dwindled catastrophically in the country. Getty Images Getty Images https://th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/2ryybo/article71617183.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/istockphoto-1141864449-612x612.jpg ePhotocorp Himalayan Griffon Vulture, Gyps himalayensis, Panna Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India Vultures spend half as long on carcasses at an open dump site than at dog-free enclosures, the scientists observed BENGALURUIn the heart of Rajasthan’s Thar desert, on the outskirts of the agro-pastoralist landscape of Bikaner, is a dumpsite of livestock carcasses where, traditionally, a feeding frenzy plays out among multiple species of beasts and birds everyday. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/thar-desert-expanding-fast-with-land-degradation-finds-study/article37993248.ece Importantly, every winter, a large number of migratory Himalayan and Eurasian griffon, whose numbers have dwindled catastrophically in the country, congregate at this dumpsite, located in the northwestern corner of Jorbeer Conservation Reserve of Bikaner.
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