Assam: 25 vultures Found dead With 8 More In Serious Condition

SHIVSAGAR: According to reports, up to 25 vultures were discovered dead on Monday morning in the Sivasagar district of Assam. Locals in the Gorkush region discovered the remains in a field and alerted the forest officials.

Eight more of them are reportedly in critical condition right now, according to sources. The vultures are thought to have been ill after eating a cow corpse that was discovered nearby, close to the scene. Later, when forest officials arrived, they provided first aid to the eight vultures that were still alive.

Around 100 endangered vulture carcasses were discovered in Assam's Kamrup district last year in a paddy field close to Guwahati. These vultures, several of which are in severe condition, were discovered in Assam's Kamrup district near Milanpur, under the Chaygaon police station. According to reports, the vultures were killed after eating a goat carcass that had been tainted with pesticides.

On March 18, Prasanna, a local conservationist in Milanpur village, told the media, "Around a hundred Himalayan vultures had suddenly died."

"We were alerted by the village inhabitants, and when scientists from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and officials from the forest department came on the scene, we discovered that 97 vultures and a steppe eagle had perished. Ten vultures and a steppe eagle were saved by us. They are currently receiving care at the BNHS facility, he continued.

The reason for the death of the vultures, according to the postmortem report, was poisoning, Sachin Ranade, senior centre manager at the Vulture Breeding Center in Rani city in Kamrup district, told DTE on the morning of March 19.

"Carbofuran toxicity from pesticides is the cause of this instance. Feral dogs will occasionally chase and attack cattle, causing farmers to suffer losses. To get rid of the dogs, they spray insecticide on the carcasses of cattle. Here, we discovered two carcasses that had been exposed to the pesticide: a goat and a dog, he said.

Also read: Assam: Truck Smuggling Coal Turns Turtle, 2 Dies

Also watch: