Thread: Cambodian vultures defying extinction

Cambodian vultures defying extinction
Sept. 3, 2010

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Vultures in Cambodia are increasing in number, making it the only country in Asia with an increasing population of the scavengers, researchers say.

A record numbers of vultures have been counted in Cambodia's census, with 296 birds of three species found across the Northern and Eastern Plains of Cambodia by the Cambodia Vulture Conservation Project, a partnership of conservationists led by the Wildlife Conservation Society of London, a society release said.

While vultures across Asia teeter on the brink of extinction in most countries, all three of Cambodia's endangered vulture species are either stable or growing in numbers, the WCS says.

The greatest threat to Asia's vultures is the veterinary drug diclofenac, widely used as an anti-inflammatory drug for cattle in South Asia.

The drug is toxic to vultures, causing death in birds that feed on cattle carcasses, the WCS says.

Vulture conservation efforts in Cambodia are the result of a number of activities promoted by the Cambodia Vulture Conservation Project, including paying villagers a small fee for protecting vulture nests and the establishment of "vulture restaurant" feeding stations.

"By protecting nests and supplementing food supplies, we are saving some of the world's largest and most charismatic birds," Hugo Rainey, WCS technical adviser to the Cambodia Vulture Conservation Project, said.

"Nowhere else in Asia do vultures have such a promising future."

upi.com



In this photo released by Wildlife Conservation Society, white-rumped vultures are seen at Mundul Kiri province, about 265 kilometers (164 miles) northeast Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2009. Eight critically-endangered were found dead in the jungle of Cambodia after feeding on the corpse of a poisoned buffalo and dog, an official said Thursday, March 19, 2009.
(AP Photo/Wildlife Conservation Society, HO)

Maybe the Cambodian government is secretly feeding them human carcasses...

^Ah, you beat me to it. Was gonna mention the killing fields and what.