The presence of black vultures at the calving sites and its effects on cows’ and calves’ behaviour immediately following parturition

Abstract

Black vultures (Coragyps atratus) are often present near calving sites, and under this situation they may play a positive role by removing animal carcasses and afterbirth or a negative role by attacking neonate calves or disturbing cow-calf behaviours following parturition. Cow-calf behaviour was recorded over a 4-year study period from a total of 300 births involving 200 Nellore, 54 Guzerat, 20 Gyr and 26 Caracu cows. The calving site in relation to the location of the herd, considering cow-calf pairs within, close or distant to the herd, the presence of vultures and the behaviour of cows and calves were recorded instantaneously, at 5-min interval. On average, vultures were present at 80% of the calving sites. The frequency of vultures present at calving sites was dependent on the years for the Nellore herd, increasing from 1998 to 2003. When vultures were present, the time that the cow was in contact with its calf decreased, and the percentage of time that the cow was standing still increased. Vultures were observed pecking cows and their neonates during 34.1% of all recordings. However, in only two cases pecking injuries were actually observed on calves that were noted to be very weak. The preliminary results suggest that although black vultures cannot be characterized as a predator of neonate calves, they sometimes attack neonate calves and their presence near the calving sites alter the behaviours of cows and calves.

Rancher-reported efficacy of lethal and non-lethal livestock predation mitigation strategies for a suite of carnivores

“…Finally, a persistent challenge for understanding livestock predation by birds is their role as scavengers. It could be difficult to separate the rancher reported livestock losses attributed to predatory birds in our study as killed or scavenged as these birds regularly scavenge carcasses that died from illness or other natural causes and are attracted to calving sites due to afterbirth and neonate availability 42 . However, it is clear that vultures, ravens, and eagles do peck vulnerable soft parts (eyes, rectum, genitals, nose) of neonates and at times adults, are a problem for sheep and cattle in at least 18 US states, known to attack ewes and heifers/cows in parturition, and have been documented injuring and killing calves 43 , 44 .…”

Spatial risk modeling of cattle depredation by black vultures in the midwestern United States

“…Beginning in the 1990s, black vulture ( Coragyps atratus ) populations increased in abundance and expanded (Avery 2004, Rushing et al 2020) their historical range to include midwestern and northeastern portions of the United States (areas where black vultures were historically absent or occurred at low densities; Toledo et al 2013, Duriez et al 2019, Zimmerman et al 2019, McClure et al 2021). As black vulture populations increased their geographic range, an increase in the frequency of reports of livestock depredation by black vultures occurred (Avery 2004, Zimmerman et al 2019, Kluever et al 2020).…”

Fundamentals and applications of forensic veterinary medicine in the welfare of dairy cattle: Review

“…Em muitas propriedades as parturientes no terço final da gestação permanecem em piquetes inadequados, longe da residência do tratador e que na maioria das vezes não oferecem o mínimo de conforto e segurança as fêmeas e aos recém-nascidos. Um estudo realizado por Toledo et al (2013) mostraram a importância das práticas de manejo e dos cuidados das vacas parturientes e dos bezerros atacados por urubus nos primeiros dias do parto nos piquetes maternidades. Estes autores enfatizaram também que os cães ou outros animais podem atacar e afetar o bem-estar animal.…”