Deadly span: On vulture safety in India, threat of electrocution

India’s power infrastructure is emerging as a big threat (खतरा, धमकी) to vultures (गिद्ध, मुर्दाखोर पक्षी)

Whereas (जबकि, इसके विपरीत) for many decades (दशक, दस वर्ष की अवधि) the chief (मुख्य, प्रमुख) concern (चिंता, सरोकार) about vulture safety was centered on (पर केंद्रित होना, मुख्य विषय होना) chemical threats, the threat of electrocution posed (present or constitute (a problem, danger, or difficulty); present, create, cause, produce) by India’s expanding (बढ़ता हुआ, विस्तारित होता हुआ) power infrastructure (विद्युत अवसंरचना) may supersede (replace, take the place of, supplant, displace) it. In the 1990s, India’s vultures suffered (experience or be subjected to (something bad or unpleasant); experience, undergo, face, endure) one of the world’s worst population crashes (जनसंख्या में भारी गिरावट), nosediving (fall heavily and suddenly; drop, plummet, plunge, tumble) 99.5% by 2007 from a high of around (लगभग, करीब) four crore in the 1980s; the white-rumped (referring to a bird having a white lower back or rump (rump is the back or rear part of an animal or object)), Indian, and slender-billed (having a slim or narrow beak; thin-beaked, narrow-billed, slim-beaked, fine-billed) vultures were nearly (लगभग, करीब-करीब) wiped out (पूरी तरह नष्ट कर देना, मिटा देना). The culprit (दोषी, जिम्मेदार कारण) was diclofenac (a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat pain and inflammatory diseases, known to be highly toxic to vultures; anti-inflammatory drug, painkiller, analgesic, NSAID), a painkiller (a drug or medicine for relieving pain; analgesic, pain reliever, anodyne, palliative) for cattle (bovines, cows, livestock, bulls) that wrecks (severely damage or destroy; ruin, destroy, shatter, devastate) vulture kidneys. The government banned the use of diclofenac, with additional (added, further) bans (an official or legal prohibition; prohibition, restriction, embargo, veto) in 2023 to mitigate (make (something bad) less severe, serious, or painful; alleviate, reduce, diminish, lessen) threats posed by aceclofenac (an NSAID used for pain relief, similar to diclofenac, which also poses a severe threat to vulture populations; NSAID, painkiller, analgesic, anti-inflammatory) and ketoprofen (a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug used in veterinary and human medicine that causes toxicity in vultures; NSAID, pain reliever, anti-inflammatory, analgesic), among some other NSAIDs. The birds’ decline left carcasses (the dead body of an animal; corpse, remains, dead body, cadaver) exposed (left unprotected or undefended; unprotected, uncovered, bare, vulnerable) for longer (for a greater amount of time; for more time, extendedly, lengthily, prolongedly), supporting feral (in a wild state, especially after escape from captivity or domestication; wild, untamed, undomesticated, stray) dog populations and leading to (result in, cause, bring about, give rise to) rabies (a contagious and fatal viral disease of dogs and other mammals that causes madness and convulsions; viral disease) outbreaks; (the sudden or violent start of something unwelcome, such as war, disease, etc.; eruption, flare-up, sudden appearance, explosion) a 2024 study in American Economic Review (a monthly, peer-reviewed academic journal of economics established in 1911 and published by the American Economic Association, considered one of the top and most respected journals in its field) estimated that human mortality (death, especially on a large scale; death, loss of life, fatality, dying) thus (as a result or consequence of this; therefore, consequently, hence, so) rose 4% and the associated (connected with something else; related, connected, linked, correlated) damages cost India $69.4 billion a year. While electrocution has not become as deadly (घातक, जानलेवा) as NSAIDs have been, the fragility (the quality of being easily broken or damaged; vulnerability, weakness, delicacy, frailty) of the vulture population and the proliferation (rapid increase in the number or amount of something; rapid increase, multiplication, spread, escalation) of unsafe (not safe; dangerous, hazardous, perilous, risky) power infrastructure warrant early action. One official survey reported in 2025 that vultures were nesting at only 50% of their historic nesting sites. It is no trivial detail that the raptors’ wide wingspans mean a large individual can contact two conductors at once. They also have a habit of perching on elevated structures, are attracted to open landscapes, and have incentives to congregate where the availability of food is predictable, a risk enhanced by people dumping food waste around electrical installations.

As The Hindu reported based on a recent study in the Journal of Threatened Taxa, “relocating a livestock carcass dump 2.4 km away from high-tension power infrastructure near Uttarakhand’s Dehradun may have saved these large scavengers from … electrocution”. An assessment prepared for the State Climate Resilient Power System Development Project also noted an Egyptian vulture and some steppe eagles had been electrocuted on medium-voltage, rather than high-voltage, lines. Research has noted that persistent mortality due to electrocution alone could render a local population extinct. Avian electrocution is also likely under-documented in India since dead birds can be removed by humans or scavenged. As the study indicated, one inexpensive solution is to separate vulture feeding sites from power infrastructure. Other measures to protect raptors, and even other birds, especially near settlements, include insulating conductors, increasing the gap between energised and grounded components or otherwise preventing a bird from bridging them — non-trivial considering vulture wingspans — and installing safe perches.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.deadly (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - घातक, जानलेवा
English Meaning - fatal, lethal, mortal, death-dealing.

2.vulture (noun)

Hindi Meaning - गिद्ध, मुर्दाखोर पक्षी
English Meaning - a large bird of prey that typically feeds on carrion (dead animals); scavenger bird, raptor, bird of prey, scavenger.

3.threat (noun)

Hindi Meaning - खतरा, धमकी
English Meaning - danger, peril, hazard, menace.

4.power infrastructure (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विद्युत अवसंरचना
English Meaning - the underlying foundation or basic framework of electrical generation, transmission, and distribution systems; electrical grid, power grid, electricity network, power system.

5.whereas (conjunction)

Hindi Meaning - जबकि, इसके विपरीत
English Meaning - in contrast or comparison with the fact that; while, on the other hand, although, by contrast.

6.decade (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दशक, दस वर्ष की अवधि
English Meaning - a period of ten years; ten years, ten-year period.

7.chief (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - मुख्य, प्रमुख
English Meaning - most important; primary, main, principal, foremost.

8.concern (noun)

Hindi Meaning - चिंता, सरोकार
English Meaning - issue, matter, worry, problem.

9.center on (phrasal verb)

Hindi Meaning - पर केंद्रित होना, मुख्य विषय होना
English Meaning - have as a main subject or interest; focus on, revolve around, concentrate on, pivot on.

10.expanding (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - बढ़ता हुआ, विस्तारित होता हुआ
English Meaning - growing, increasing, widening, broadening.

11.population crash (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जनसंख्या में भारी गिरावट
English Meaning - a sudden decline in the numbers of individual members in a population; population collapse, demographic plunge.

12.around (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - लगभग, करीब
English Meaning - approximately; roughly, about, circa, nearly.

13.nearly (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - लगभग, करीब-करीब
English Meaning - very close to; almost, practically, virtually, approximately.

14.wipe out (phrasal verb)

Hindi Meaning - पूरी तरह नष्ट कर देना, मिटा देना
English Meaning - eliminate or destroy completely; destroy, eradicate, decimate, annihilate.

15.culprit (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दोषी, जिम्मेदार कारण
English Meaning - the cause of a problem or defect; cause, reason, source, offender.

16.cattle (noun)

English Meaning - bovines, cows, livestock, bulls.

17.span (noun)

English Meaning - the distance from one end of a bird’s fully extended wings to the other; wingspan, wing spread, breadth, width.

18.deadly span (noun)

English Meaning - a dangerous wingspan that can cause electrocution when a large bird simultaneously contacts two electrical conductors; lethal wingspan, dangerous span, fatal reach, deadly wingspread.

19.electrocution (noun)

English Meaning - the injury or killing of someone or something by electric shock; electric shock, execution by electricity, electrical shock, electrocuting.

20.pose (verb)

English Meaning - present or constitute (a problem, danger, or difficulty); present, create, cause, produce.

21.supersede (verb)

English Meaning - replace, take the place of, supplant, displace.

22.suffer (verb)

English Meaning - experience or be subjected to (something bad or unpleasant); experience, undergo, face, endure.

23.nosedive (verb)

English Meaning - fall heavily and suddenly; drop, plummet, plunge, tumble.

24.white-rumped (adjective)

English Meaning - referring to a bird having a white lower back or rump (rump is the back or rear part of an animal or object).

25.slender-billed (adjective)

English Meaning - having a slim or narrow beak; thin-beaked, narrow-billed, slim-beaked, fine-billed.

26.diclofenac (noun)

English Meaning - a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat pain and inflammatory diseases, known to be highly toxic to vultures; anti-inflammatory drug, painkiller, analgesic, NSAID.

27.painkiller (noun)

English Meaning - a drug or medicine for relieving pain; analgesic, pain reliever, anodyne, palliative.

28.wreck (verb)

English Meaning - severely damage or destroy; ruin, destroy, shatter, devastate.

29.ban (verb)

English Meaning - officially or legally prohibit; prohibit, forbid, outlaw, proscribe.

30.additional (adjective)

English Meaning - added, further.

31.ban (noun)

English Meaning - an official or legal prohibition; prohibition, restriction, embargo, veto.

32.mitigate (verb)

English Meaning - make (something bad) less severe, serious, or painful; alleviate, reduce, diminish, lessen.

33.aceclofenac (noun)

English Meaning - an NSAID used for pain relief, similar to diclofenac, which also poses a severe threat to vulture populations; NSAID, painkiller, analgesic, anti-inflammatory.

34.ketoprofen (noun)

English Meaning - a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug used in veterinary and human medicine that causes toxicity in vultures; NSAID, pain reliever, anti-inflammatory, analgesic.

35.Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) (noun)

English Meaning - a class of medication used to reduce pain, decrease fever, prevent blood clots, and decrease inflammation; anti-inflammatory, painkiller, analgesic, fever reducer.

36.leave (verb)

English Meaning - cause to be in a particular state or position; keep, make, let remain, cause to be.

37.carcass (noun)

English Meaning - the dead body of an animal; corpse, remains, dead body, cadaver.

38.exposed (adjective)

English Meaning - left unprotected or undefended; unprotected, uncovered, bare, vulnerable.

39.for longer (phrase)

English Meaning - for a greater amount of time; for more time, extendedly, lengthily, prolongedly.

40.feral (adjective)

English Meaning - in a wild state, especially after escape from captivity or domestication; wild, untamed, undomesticated, stray.

41.lead to (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - result in, cause, bring about, give rise to.

42.rabies (noun)

English Meaning - a contagious and fatal viral disease of dogs and other mammals that causes madness and convulsions; viral disease.

43.outbreak (noun)

English Meaning - the sudden or violent start of something unwelcome, such as war, disease, etc.; eruption, flare-up, sudden appearance, explosion.

44.American Economic Review (noun)

English Meaning - a monthly, peer-reviewed academic journal of economics established in 1911 and published by the American Economic Association, considered one of the top and most respected journals in its field.

45.mortality (noun)

English Meaning - death, especially on a large scale; death, loss of life, fatality, dying.

46.thus (adverb)

English Meaning - as a result or consequence of this; therefore, consequently, hence, so.

47.associated (adjective)

English Meaning - connected with something else; related, connected, linked, correlated.

48.fragility (noun)

English Meaning - the quality of being easily broken or damaged; vulnerability, weakness, delicacy, frailty.

49.proliferation (noun)

English Meaning - rapid increase in the number or amount of something; rapid increase, multiplication, spread, escalation.

50.unsafe (adjective)

English Meaning - not safe; dangerous, hazardous, perilous, risky.