Could a dead goat poisoned to kill free-ranging dogs have been the cause of death for 25 vultures in Semaria village of Bahadurnagar gram panchayat in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district?
That question is lingering in the minds of many locals and officials after the discovery of bird carcasses sent shockwaves in the area.
Devendra Singh, sarpanch of the village, told Down to Earth that this was the first time such a large number of vultures were seen in his gram panchayat. He added that there are a lot of stray or free-ranging dogs in the village. “These dogs live in packs and kill 7-8 goats at a time. Three days ago, these dogs had hunted goats in Dimraul panchayat,” said Singh.
According to Singh, someone had poisoned the dead goats, which caused the deaths of four to five dogs. One of these dogs was eaten by vultures, due to which they also died.
He said free ranging dogs had also hunted goats in the nearby Ratnapur panchayat, where poisonous rice meant to kill them has been found. Livestock owners were upset with the damage caused by these dog attacks and one of them poisoned the dead goats to get rid of the dogs.
Singh said on April 7, at around 8 am, the poison-infected dog carcass was eaten by vultures in three to four hours. Shortly thereafter, the birds suddenly began to die and their carcasses piled up. Samples of the dead vultures have been sent to Bareilly for viscera examination.
Kirti Chaudhary, deputy director of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve Buffer Zone, said the dogs that died were feral and used to attack goats in the village. It is suspected that someone had poisoned the cooked rice to kill the dogs.
At present, the sample of rice found from the spot has also been sent for investigation. The situation will become clearer after the investigation. According to the Indian Express, the dead vultures were of the Himalayan griffon species. Six vultures have been rescued, of which four flew away after being treated. The remaining vultures are undergoing treatment at the range premises.