HOW AVAILABILITY OF NSAIDS AND PUBLIC PERCEPTION MATTERS IN VULTURE CONSERVATION IN THE NILGIRI BIOSPHERE RESERVE, SOUTH INDIA: AN OVERT AND COVERT SURVEY APPROACHS. Manigandan, H. Byju, P. Kannan, B. Ramakrishnan and Reshmi VijayanAbstract The vulture population in South Asia is under extinction threat due to the unprecedented use of the toxic non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac for livestock treatment over the last few decades. The subsequent ban in countries including India had stabilized the population at the declining level of some species of vultures, even though it was slightly significant. All the earlier assessments in India had excluded the viable breeding population of south India, including the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, which comprises three states. To overcome the gap in these findings, we conducted repeated covert surveys for two years in six districts of three states covering the vulture foraging areas from the nearest nesting population in a 100 km radius to check availability, brands, secondary ingredients in formulations, whether bolus and injectable or both formulations of NSAIDs, and then documented. Apart from this we also had an open questionnaire survey during the second year with the pharmacy owners about their perception and attitude toward vulture conservation. The results are mixed, with some areas showing positive trends and other areas showing negative trends in NSAIDS and vulture conservation. Hence, we suggest the need for more corrective and legislative measures, including enforcement, that have to be strengthened. |