UC Agriculture & Natural Resources Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference Title An Overview of Vertebrate Pests in India Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7hw2r9p9 Journal Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference, 22(22) ISSN 0507-6773 Author Sridhara, Shakunthala Publication Date 2006 DOI 10.5070/V422110078 eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California An Overview of Vertebrate Pests in India ShakunthalaSridhara AINPonRodentControl,CollegeofAgriculture,UniversityofAgriculturalSciences,Bangalore,India ABSTRACT : Abillion-plushumanpopulation,agriculture,anddevelopmentareshrinkinganddegradingthehabitatofmanyof the1,200birdand500mammalspeciesofIndia.Withhumansandherbivorescompetingforthesameresources,manyofthemare becomingpestsoncrops.Thegranivorousbirdsdepredateonselectedcereals,sunflower,groundnut,andoilpalm.Guava,grape, apple,sapota,pecan,pomegranate,andpineapplearedamagedsignificantlybyfrugivorebirds.Amongstvertebratepests,rodents arethemostdestructive.Adozenspecies,viz. Rattusrattus ,Bandicotabengalensis ,B.indica ,Millardiameltada ,Musbooduga , M.platythrix ,Musmusculus ,Tateraindica ,Merioneshurrianae ,Funambuluspennanti ,F.palmarum ,F .tristriatus ,and Hystrix indica areseriouspests.Cereals,pulses,oilseeds,vegetables,fruits,andplantationcropsaredamagedconsiderably.Sownseeds, seedlingsofmaize,sorghum,sunflower,groundnut,redgram,tendercoconut,oilpalm,cardamom,andcocoaaredepredatedmuch more.Othervertebratepestsofsignificanceare Pteropusgiganteus ,Cynopterussphinx ,Rousettusleschenaulti(bats),Boselaphus tragocamelus (Nilgai),Elephasmaximus (elephant),Macacamulatto ,and Semnopithecusentellus (monkeys).Sporadically,other langurs,slothbear,wildboar,hare,goldenjackal,andpeacockbecomepests.Thispaperreviewsthelethalandnon-lethalmethods ofmanagingthiswideofarrayofvertebratepests. KEY WORDS :birdpests,bluebull,elephant,frugivorebats,hare,India,lethalcontrol,monkeys,non-lethalmethods,peacock, rodents,slothbear,wildboar Proc.22 nd Vertebr.PestConf. (R.M.TimmandJ.M.O’Brien,Eds.) PublishedatUniv.ofCalif.,Davis. 2006. Pp.510-521. INTRODUCTION Ifresourcesbecomelimitedandifthereiscompetition Anthropoides virgo (Demoiselle crane), Columba livia between humans and wild herbivores for the same (blue rock pigeon), Streptopeila decaoto (ring dove), resources,eitherinnaturalorcultivatedfields,thelatter Psittacula krameri (rose ringed parakeet), Psittacula becomepestsorpredators.Elephants,wildpigs,bisons, himalayana (slaty headed parakeet), Megalaima viridis monkeys, langurs, bears, bats, porcupines, and several (small green barbet), Sturnus roseus (rosy pastor), species of seed-eating and omnivorous birds were not Acridotheres tristis (common myna), Acridotheres habitualcropraidersinthepastontheIndiansubconti- giginianus (bankmyna), Corvus splendens (housecrow), nent. But currently, these animals are devouring culti- Macrorhyncus (jungle crow), Pycnonotus cafer (red- vatedcrops,puttingthesubsistencefarmerstoenormous vented bulbul), Turodoides striatus (jungle babbler), losses and affecting government’s policies to protect Passer domesticus (housesparrow), Ploceus philippinus them. As most of these pests are either endangered or (Baya weaver), Ploceus bengalensis (black throated threatened,theissuebecomescontroversial.Asectionof weaver bird), Lonchuria malabarica (white throated societyinsistsonconservationatanycost.Ontheother munia),and Lonchura punctulata (spottedmunia). hand,theaffectedfarmerbecomesagitatedandangry,as heishelplesstotakeanyactionagainsttheseprotected CropLosses animals. He expects hefty monetary compensation or Croplossesfromdepredatorybirds(RaoandDubey suitable action by the government to ameliorate the 2006) can occur either due to single species as in problem.Butsuchaplan canbeformulatedonlyafter sunflower(parakeet),oracommunityofbirdcomplexas recognizing the damage patterns and the species inpearlmillet,sorghum,paddy,andgroundnut.Almost responsible,whichinturnisbasedonunderstandingthe all cereals, pulses, oilseeds, and several vegetable crops biology of pest species causing damage, evaluation of are susceptible to bird damage during the sowing, methodsofmanagement,andawarenessaboutlocallaws seedling,andripeningstages.Cerealsarevulnerableat aboutpestcontrolandwildlifeprotection.Thisoverview doughstage,withsmallergrainssuchaspearlmilletand summarises the damage pattern, species involved, and sorghumbeingmoredamagedthanlargesizedgrainslike existing methods of management of major vertebrate maize. Both smaller and larger birds feed on smaller pestsinIndia. grains, whereas maize is depredated primarily by larger speciessuchasparakeetsandcrows.Isolatedfieldsand BIRDS fields with either early- or late-maturing varieties are Thereareabout1,200speciesofbirdsrepresenting20 highlysusceptibletobirddamage. ordersinIndia.Atotalof63speciesofbirdsbelonging to19familieshavebeenfounddamagingseveralcrops, Cereals mostlygrain-yieldingandfruit-bearingones. Rose ringed parakeet, rosy pastor, ring dove, bank myna,housesparrow,andBayaweaverdamagedcereals, GrainivorousBirds whichranged0.3to60%inpearlmillet,0.2to41%in The important depredatory birds are Pavo cristatus wheat,0.1to6.5%inpaddy,0.4to48%insorghum,and (common peafowl), Grus antigone (Sarus crane), 0.3to20%inmaize(RaoandDubey2006). 510 Oilseeds Punjab by bank myna and Indian myna (Toor 1982, Birddamagewasmaximuminsunflower(10to90%) Sandhu and Dhindsa 1995), and 36% in Karnataka by and was by rose ringed parakeet and house crow. Ten jungle crow, common crow, and barbet (Prasad and speciesofbirdscaused3to33%damageatsowingand Verghese 1985). An estimated damage of 21.2% was sproutingstagesofgroundnut.Oilpalmwasdamagedat seeninpeachbyroseringedparakeet,commoncrow,and 3.3 to 30% by common crow, jungle crow, rose ringed sparrow(ToorandRamzan1974,Mann1986),andupto parakeet,andcommonmyna(RaoandDubey2006). 80% damage in apple by blossom headed parakeet (Narang and Chandel 1995). Jungle crow and golden ManagementofGranivorousBirds frontedchloropsiscausedconsiderabledamagetoorange Onlynon-lethalmethodsofbirdpestmanagementare (Chakravarthy1993),whilecommoncrowwasapeston invogue.Theseincludesuggestionstoreversethetrends sapota(Verghese2006).Roseringedparakeet(Sridhara in crop cultivation by resorting to growing the original 1999), small green barbet, myna spp., and coppersmith crops that were not attractive to birds. For instance, (Chakravarthy 1993) damaged pomegranate (10-30%). before the introduction of sunflower cultivation in Pun- Reportedlossestopineappleduetodepredationbyjungle jab, parakeets fed on seeds of mulberry and weeds like crowwas22%(Chakravarthy1993).Damagetopapaya Crotalaria medicaginea ,inspiteofavailabilityofmature by green barbet (Chakravarthy 1993) and to mango by wheatinthefields.Oncesunflowercultivationspread,its roseringedparakeet(Toor1982)arealsoreported. seeds became very attractive (Saini et al . 1992). By As in the management of grainivorous birds, lethal reversing the cropping pattern, the bird damage is approaches to prevent damage by frugivore birds are expectedtobestopped.Butsuchachangeisdifficultto avoided.Popularmanagementtechniquesincludenetting adapt, as economic and dietary habits of people dictate entiretrees,ifthetreesarelarge,andblocksofvineyards thechoiceofsunflowercultivation.Asecondmethodis and smaller fruit trees. Other measures are covering to prevent access to preferred food by wrapping with canopywithdriedtwigsandthatches,shootingtoscare, leaves,asincorncobs(Dhindsa etal .1993). visualscares,anddestructionofroostsandnestsofbirds. Tannins(Feareetal .1988),andextractsofleavesof Azardicta indicus , Mormoidia foetida , Veronica RODENTS amygdaline ,tobacco,and Gliricidia sepium areknownto Species repelbirdpests(RaoandDubey2006).Treatingseeds Of the128speciesofrodentsbelongingto46genera, with Thiram and copper oxychloride at 0.5% before 12 are serious pests (Table 1). Rattus rattus and Mus sowing reduced seedling losses to birds in maize, musculus are the commensals, also occurring in ware- chickpea, soybean, sunflower, and groundnut (Chak- houses, godowns, and poultry and livestock facilities. ravarthy1993).However,suchrepellentsareknownto Bandicota bengalensis isbecomingcommensal,replacing become ineffective in the absence of alternate foods R. rattus across the country. There are 3 species of (Feare etal .1988). arboreal squirrels, namely Funambulus pennanti , F. Planting seeds deeper to prevent damage to palmarum ,and F.tristriatus. These,alongwith2species germinatingseeds(Dolbeer etal .1979),growingmaize of Rattus ,R.rattuswroughtonii andR .r.blanfordi ,are instead of small-seeded cereals, avoiding early and late seriouspestsofcoconut,cocoa,cashew,cardamom,and sowing varieties (Feare et al . 1988), and growing coffee in south-western and western coastal areas. The cucumberalongwithbottlegourdandcreepersinraised arid areas of Rajasthan and north-western Gujarat are basins(SrihariandChakravarthy1998)aresomeofthe infested by 3 xeric species: Meriones hurrianae , farming practices to reduce bird damage. Destroying Gerbillus gleadowii , and Golunda ellioti . Of these, M. perches and roost sites and denying water can also hurrianaeand T.indicacausesignificantdamage.North- mitigatethedamage. eastIndiaisabiodiversityhotspotwithitsownrepertoire Lure crops, if combined with scares, work more ofindigenousrodentpests,viz. R.nitidus ,R.sikkimensis , effectivelythaneitherofthemethodsalone(Feare etal . R.r.brunnesculus ,and Dremomyslokriah