![]() We recorded three vulture species, including near-threatened Himalayan Griffons (Gyps himalayensis), endangered Egyptian Vultures (Neophron percnopterus) and critically endangered White-rumped Vultures (Gyps bengalensis), distributed across elevations ranging from 560–1530 masl. In the current study, we investigated the abundance of vultures inhabiting Pir Lasura National Park in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan, from September 2015 to August 2016. In the last few decades, populations have declined drastically, mainly due to the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac used in India, Pakistan, and Nepal. They provide sanitation services by feeding on carcasses, which would otherwise decay and possibly become a source of disease affecting the health of other animals. All Gyps species are wide-ranging in their foraging behaviour and juveniles disperse more widely than adults.Vultures are crucial components of ecosystems as they perform important ecological andĪesthetic functions. In most parts of Africa, vultures primarily feed on dead wild ungulates. Their abundance in India and Nepal, where Hindu religious taboos restrict the consumption of meat, is explained by the role Gyps has in consuming cattle carcasses. Gyps vultures used to be widespread and abundant, accounting for the majority of vulture sightings in both Africa and Asia. Gyps vultures are obligate scavengers (they have to scavenge and do not hunt for themselves) and perform an important ecological function by stripping the soft tissue from carcasses. No Gyps species is completely geographically isolated from its congeners. rueppellii) and Cape griffon vulture ( G. The other three species of Gyps are found in Africa: the African white-backed ( G. indicus, also known as the Indian vulture) and slender-billed vulture ( G. bengalensis, also known as the white-rumped vulture), long-billed vulture ( G. ![]() The three resident species found in Asia are the Oriental white-backed vulture ( G. fulvus), while the other six species are resident although they may still make large seasonal movements in response to food supplies and climatic conditions (e.g. himalayensis) and Eurasian griffon vulture ( G. Two species are migratory, the Himalayan griffon vulture ( G. The most familiar and abundant species of vultures belong to the genus Gyps, which includes eight species that occur across Africa, Europe and Asia. ![]() Co-evolution has shaped their morphology and behaviour to parallel closely the Old World species, although in contrast to Old World vultures which primarily rely on sight for finding their food, New World vultures find prey through using sight and a highly developed sense of smell. Californian condor Gymnogyps californianus, Andean condor Vultur gryphus, king vulture Sarcoramphus papa, turkey vulture Cathartes aura and greater yellow-headed vulture Cathartes melambrotus) are more closely related to storks than to Old World vultures. While their appearance is similar, evidence from genetic studies and their morphology indicates that the New World Vultures of North and South America (e.g. Old World vultures in Africa, Asia and Europe belong to the family Falconidae and are most closely related to other birds of prey. Vultures are found across world in all continents except Australasia and Antarctica.
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