[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] A wild vulture that was found poisoned and under protection was treated in Chungnam and then released back into the wild.
On the 9th, Chungnam Province announced that, together with the Chungnam Wildlife Rescue Center, they released four wild vultures near Seosan Birdland in Chang-ri, Buseok-myeon, Seosan City the previous day.
The released wild vultures are natural monuments classified as endangered wild species level II and were rescued respectively in January and February in Cheonan, Asan, Seosan, and Dangjin in Chungnam.
At the time of rescue, the wild vultures showed typical pesticide poisoning symptoms such as a crop full of food, drooling, diarrhea, and paralysis. The location where they were found was near farmland, and it was reported that they were unable to fly or walk.
Vultures belong to the Accipitridae family of raptors and primarily feed on carcasses of dead animals rather than hunting. Based on this, the Chungnam Wildlife Rescue Center judged that the vultures showing pesticide poisoning symptoms were secondarily poisoned by consuming carcasses of animals that died from pesticide ingestion.
Accordingly, the Chungnam Wildlife Rescue Center moved the vultures to a protected facility on the Yesan Campus of Kongju National University, where they underwent treatment including removal of contaminants inside the crop, fluid therapy, and medication administration.
After treatment, they underwent rehabilitation training such as flight exercises in the center’s aviary to prepare for release.
Even after release, the Chungnam Wildlife Rescue Center plans to provide food near the release site and continuously monitor the vultures’ adaptation in the wild until they migrate northward.
Additionally, by using the leg band identification tags attached to the vultures, they will track domestic and international migration routes and ecological characteristics to utilize the data.
Meanwhile, the Chungnam Wildlife Rescue Center was established in 2010 based on an agreement between the province and Kongju National University. Since its first year of operation in 2010 until this year, the center has rescued a total of 10,953 birds. Among them, 4,070 birds (37.2% of the total) were returned to nature after undergoing treatment and rehabilitation training.
Lee Woo-sung, Deputy Director of Culture and Sports of the province, said, “Every winter, wild birds suffer mass deaths or secondary poisoning due to pesticide and other toxic substance poisoning. Amid this, it is encouraging that the Chungnam Wildlife Rescue Center’s wildlife rescue achievements continue to increase steadily.”
He added, “The province will continue to activate a rapid rescue and treatment system for wild birds to protect endangered wild animals and strive to maintain biodiversity in the region.”
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