Zahoor-Salmi
Nature Preservation: Minor Role to Major Affect
Our Universe is beautifully organized and balanced by Nature and each living creature of this system has a particular role. If this role is un-naturally terminated, it will eventually disrupt the balance and our beautiful world will become ugly and full of ecological problems.
Vulture
A vulture is an important part of our ecosystem but unfortunately we people do not like it and is regarded as stinking, vulgar and indecent bird. Whereas it performs a very important role to clean the environment and provide healthy living condition for our habitat. This is because nature has provided them with a powerful digestive system which helps to kill extremely dangerous bacteria which could otherwise spread contagious deceases [1]. These birds clean the remains of dead animals and many other waste materials produced by increasing human population. A single vulture is responsible for consuming many tons of toxic waste during its life and without these birds our world would have been full of stinking carcasses and waste. Just imagine if these birds disappear from our planet how hazardous changes will take place in our environment.
Unfortunately in Pakistan many species of this bird is rapidly dwindling and in some areas of the country they have all together disappeared. The reason being the reckless use of diclofenac drug to cure sick cattle and the content of drug remains in their body even after death.
When the vultures consume carcasses of those cattle the drug enters their body causing kidney failures and ultimately the birds die. The same drug is also used to increase the milk production of milch animals which also results in heart attack and other fatal diseases in humans [2]. Although the drug has been banned for veterinary use, people can still buy and use the same drug available at common medical stores for their cattle.
In the absence of vulture the carcasses of cattle which died because of deadly diseases are consumed by other carnivores such as stray dogs, crows, kites etc. whose digestive system unlike vulture cannot kill the bacteria and eventually the contagious diseases spread out reaching humans.
Written by
© ZahoorSalmi
References
[1]. Michael R., Ida Baerholm S., at el., The microbiome of New World vultures, Nature Communications 5, Article number: 5498 doi:10.1038/ncomms6498, 25 November 2014.
[2]. Press Release, New safety advice for diclofenac – CMDh endorses PRAC recommendation, New measures aim to minimise cardiovascular risks, European Medicines Agency, EMA/380947/2013, 28 June 2013.
Nature Preservation: Minor Role to Major Affect
Our Universe is beautifully organized and balanced by Nature and each living creature of this system has a particular role. If this role is un-naturally terminated, it will eventually disrupt the balance and our beautiful world will become ugly and full of ecological problems.
Vulture
A vulture is an important part of our ecosystem but unfortunately we people do not like it and is regarded as stinking, vulgar and indecent bird. Whereas it performs a very important role to clean the environment and provide healthy living condition for our habitat. This is because nature has provided them with a powerful digestive system which helps to kill extremely dangerous bacteria which could otherwise spread contagious deceases [1]. These birds clean the remains of dead animals and many other waste materials produced by increasing human population. A single vulture is responsible for consuming many tons of toxic waste during its life and without these birds our world would have been full of stinking carcasses and waste. Just imagine if these birds disappear from our planet how hazardous changes will take place in our environment.
Unfortunately in Pakistan many species of this bird is rapidly dwindling and in some areas of the country they have all together disappeared. The reason being the reckless use of diclofenac drug to cure sick cattle and the content of drug remains in their body even after death.
When the vultures consume carcasses of those cattle the drug enters their body causing kidney failures and ultimately the birds die. The same drug is also used to increase the milk production of milch animals which also results in heart attack and other fatal diseases in humans [2]. Although the drug has been banned for veterinary use, people can still buy and use the same drug available at common medical stores for their cattle.
In the absence of vulture the carcasses of cattle which died because of deadly diseases are consumed by other carnivores such as stray dogs, crows, kites etc. whose digestive system unlike vulture cannot kill the bacteria and eventually the contagious diseases spread out reaching humans.
Written by
© ZahoorSalmi
References
[1]. Michael R., Ida Baerholm S., at el., The microbiome of New World vultures, Nature Communications 5, Article number: 5498 doi:10.1038/ncomms6498, 25 November 2014.
[2]. Press Release, New safety advice for diclofenac – CMDh endorses PRAC recommendation, New measures aim to minimise cardiovascular risks, European Medicines Agency, EMA/380947/2013, 28 June 2013.