In news- A new analysis of data from the IUCN and BirdLife International has found that 30% of 557 raptor species worldwide are considered near threatened, vulnerable or endangered or critically endangered.
Key updates-
- Of them, 18 species are critically endangered, 25 are endangered, 57 are vulnerable and 66 are near-threatened.
- The Philippine eagle, the hooded vulture and the Annobon scops owl are critically endangered.
- Of threatened birds of prey that are active mostly during the day including most hawks, eagles and vultures, 54% were falling in population.
- The same was true for 47% of threatened nocturnal raptors, such as owls.
- In Asia and Africa, particularly West Africa, vulture populations have decreased by an average of 95 per cent in rural areas over the last 30 years as the result of shooting and poisoning through feeding on carcasses of livestock treated with diclofenac.
- The Andean condor is declining due to exposure to pesticides, lead and other toxic substances.
- In East Asia, many raptor species are long-distance migrants that breed in northern China, Mongolia or Russia and travel down the eastern coast of China to spend summers in Southeast Asia or India.
- But eastern China is also the most populous and urban part of the country, with steep development pressures that act as bottlenecks for migration.
- Globally, the biggest threats to these birds are habitat loss, climate change and toxic substances.
- Other threats include rodent pesticides and the lead in hunters’ bullets and shot pellets.
- Indonesia has the most raptor species, followed by Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Source: DownToEarth
