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Young World
Binoculars, hiking boots and patience
RADHA H.S.
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Raptor ecologists understand the birds, and their relationship with the environment.
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Photo: Ritu Raj Konwar
Old world vultures : Gyps bengalensis.
Rick Watson is a raptor ecologist and is the International Programs Director, The Peregrine Foundation, a U.S. organisation that works to conserve birds of prey.
Excerpts from an interview:
So what fired the spark of interest in raptors?
I started out as a marine biologist, enthused by the Jacques Cousteau documentaries that I saw on TV in the 1960s and 70s and my childhood experience learning to scuba dive and sail around the coast of Great Britain. I was convinced that my life should be dedicated to wildlife conservation, so I looked for a Ph.D. subject on an endangered species, and that is how I got into studying birds of prey.
What has been your most recent project?
I led the team responsible for the discovery that the veterinary use of diclofenac, a non- steroid anti-inflammatory drug, which was the cause of the catastrophic decline of three speices of Gyps vultures in South Asia to “critically endangered” status in just 10 years.
How difficult are raptors to study and understand?
Raptors are not difficult to study, provided you are discreet and don’t disturb them at the nest. But you do have to work hard to find and follow them — like almost any animal that you want to observe in the wild.
Which raptors fascinate you the most and why?
I would say that the Old World vultures (vultures of Africa and Asia) have caught my attention the most, partly because they are so maligned as being ugly and not worth consideration, and partly because as scavengers they seem to be most in need of conservation help.
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