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Graphic detail | Carrion call

The sudden demise of Indian vultures killed

thousands of people
Without “nature’s sanitation service” pathogens spread into the water supply

Aug 22nd 2023

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T he same cast of characters features in most wildlife conservation

campaigns: majestic tigers, adorable pandas or other creatures that tug
human heartstrings.

Images of the blood-splattered bills of endangered vultures tend to evoke less

sympathy, but a new study provides a reason to be concerned for their survival.
The near-extinction of Indian vultures in the mid-1990s proved fatal for humans
too, causing the mortality rate to rise by 4% in districts once populated by the
birds.

Make an intelligent saving on a two-year digital s

 Diclofenac sales Estimated vulture
in India, 1993=1 population, 1993=1*
5 1.5
Generic drug
approved 1.0
3

0.5
1
0 0
1991 95 2000 03 1990 95 2000 05

Fewer carcasses cleared Other scavengers experience

away by scavenging less competition

Vultures
DECREASE

Use of diclofenac in cattle

poisons vulture populations

INCREASES INCREASES
Livestock carrion Dogs and rats

Other scavengers are less

efficient at stripping carcasses

Causes water pollution Causes infectious diseases

such as fecal coliforms AFFECTS such as rabies

Human health
 Human death rates, 1993=1†
1.4

Areas suitable
for vultures
1.2

1.0

Unsuitable for vultures

0.8
1990 95 2000 05

*Based on share of observations in eBird birdwatching records †Weighted by population

Source: “The social costs of keystone species collapse”, by Eyal G. Frank & Anant Sudarshan

Vultures act as nature’s sanitation service. In India, their diet consisted largely of
rotting livestock carcasses—numbering 30m a year in the cattle-revering
country. A group of vultures can polish off a cow’s carrion in 40 minutes. Their
strongly acidic digestive tracts destroy most germs.

Historically, vultures were widespread in India. But between the 1990s and early
2000s their numbers plummeted by more than 90%, from around 40m. The
cause was diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drug that farmers began using to
treat their cattle. Though the drug was harmless to both cows and humans, birds
that consumed animals treated with diclofenac suffered from kidney failure and
died within weeks.

Without vultures, carcasses attracted feral dogs and rats. Not only do these
animals carry rabies and other diseases that threaten humans, they are far less
efficient at finishing off carrion. The rotting remains they left behind were full of
pathogens that then spread to drinking water.

The abrupt demise of the vultures made it possible to quantify their impact on
public health. A new working paper, by Eyal Frank of the University of Chicago
and Anant Sudarshan of Warwick University, used a statistical method called
“difference-in-differences” to compare changes in the death rate in districts with
habitats well suited to vultures with those in less suitable places, just as
di l f t k ff
diclofenac use took off.

In districts with vulture-suitable habitats, more people began to die just as

diclofenac sales increased. The effect was greatest in urban areas with large

livestock populations. The authors estimated that, between 2000 and 2005, the
loss of vultures caused 500,000 additional human deaths.

“Keystone species” like the vulture hold ecosystems together. Conserving these
animals should be a priority. They may not be cute or cuddly, but they are
important.7

illustrations: olivier heiligers

This article appeared in the Graphic detail section of the print edition under the headline "Carrion call"

From the August 26th

2023 edition
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