Veterinary First Aid Kit Distribution at Thengumarahada | 3 July 2025
Overview -
Thengumarahada village is a unique small village located in Kotagiri taluk of Nilgiris district, rich in natural resources, inhabited by tribals and other people. It is located on the banks of the Moyar River in the area connecting Sathyamangalam and Mudumalai forests. A variety of wildlife like elephants, hyenas, deer tigers, crocodiles, otters and the endangered vultures and other bird species live here.
Current Status of Vultures:
In general, the number of vultures has declined significantly across South Asia. It was revealed that the effects of painkillers (Diclofenac, Aceclofenac, Ketoprofen, Nimesulide) administered to sick cattle reached the bodies of vultures that had eaten them through the dead cattle, causing kidney failure and death.
Awareness activities:
To change this and help protect vultures, the Arulagam Nature Conservation Organisation is undertaking various awareness activities. As part of this, an effort was made to set up a first aid kit for cattle using safe alternatives instead of banned medicines to protect the vultures.
Highlights:
On 03-07-2025, the Arulagam organization held a public discussion with cattle owners in Tengumarahada village. At this event, Mr. Paraman spoke in detail about the disadvantages of banned medicines, the use of safe alternatives and the need for a veterinary first aid kit. Arulagam field-staff Sundari and Revathi spoke about the importance of the vultures. People understood the importance of vultures and the need to avoid banned drugs.
In this event, village committee members, livestock owners and others participated and expressed their support for this initiative.
They agreed to place a veterinary first aid kit in a public place in the village. Accordingly, it was decided to place livestock first aid kits in Tengumaragada, Alli Mayaru and Kallampalayam villages to protect the vultures... Preparations for this have been started.. It will be operational soon.It is planned to conduct this event by inviting all livestock owners.
Overall, this event was a great initiative for vulture conservation. Through the veterinary first aid kit, the danger posed by banned medicines can be reduced. It is hoped that through this, the number of vultures will increase again. Arulagam plans to continue to carry out such awareness and veterinary medical assistance activities.
We would like to thank Mrs. Saraswathi Natarajan and Mr. Natarajan's family for their support of this event.