Images

currentsinbiology:

People In Nepal Used To Think Vultures Were Bad Luck. Not Anymore

Vulture “restaurants” have sprung up in Nepal over the past decade to offer safe food to the endangered birds, which lost more than 99 percent of their species population across South Asia over about a decade. The restaurants house and raise rescued vulture babies — and also offer food to wild vultures.

Peters says scientists think the decimation is from an anti-inflammatory drug used in cows, called diclofenac.

Birds that have eaten carcasses of cows laced with the drug have died of kidney failure. In countries with a Hindu majority like India and Nepal, most people don’t eat beef and there’s not much of an animal disposal system. So when cows used for dairy or plowing die, they’re left until vultures take over.

Vultures play a crucial role in sanitation, clearing bacteria and disease with the carcasses they consume. Peters says that in India the incidence of rabies even went up when vulture numbers started to drop. The wild dog population boomed with less competition for carrion from the scavenging birds. More wild dogs led to higher rates of rabies.

A Himalayan griffon vulture perches in the mountains. Nepal is home to nine species of vulture, four of which are critically endangered. Mary Plage/Getty Images

I found this guy (Australian lorikeet) in a garden at my daughters school when he was roughly 9 weeks old. He was suffering from lorikeet paralysis syndrome when we found him and the ants were already working their way under his feathers. I spent 20 minutes picking ants off him and months hand feeding him fruit and honey. He is now healthy, his legs are still lightly splayed and he can’t sit on smooth surfaces but he’s toilet trained and gives kisses. Worlds away from the bird I found in the garden almost a year ago and very much a part of this family now. We love you Buddy ❤️

– he’s beautiful!! so glad you guys saved him. thank you for sharing!

ask-koki-kariya:

ramseyringnecks:

cinnamonbirbs:

chuckdrawsthings:

u ever see a pigeon on public transport and wonder if it knows what the hell it’s doing

I get sad because I wonder if they’ll make it back to their families or their mate. 😦

@cinnamonbirbs

Don’t be sad, friend! They know exactly what they’re doing. ^v^

Pigeons have the same cognitive capacity as five year old humans, and have been documented taking advantage of our transportation systems to commute back and forth from foraging grounds farther than they could have easily flown, at a much lower energy cost.

They know the times, which trains go where, where all the best food stops are, and which stop is theirs.

And they tend to be model passengers, taking their seats under the big human seats, and politely filing out at their work and home stops. ^v^

pigeon has responsibilities I’m so proud of them

copperbadge:

hpgirl18:

fat-birds:

fuckyeahpigeon:

How many pigeons does it take to use a drinking fountain? In Brisbane, Australia, apparently the answer is three! Earlier this month, a trio of industrious birds Down Under figured out how to operate a water fountain by observing humans and then making their move when the coast was clear. The feathered friends reportedly spent 10 minutes bathing and sipping from the fountain, taking turns pushing the lever for each other until all were quenched. Who are you calling a birdbrain now?

uhmazing.

I feel this is relevant to @copperbadge

Shit, they’re learning the value of teamwork, I’m so fucked