Second-generation Anticoagulant Rodenticide Poisoning in a Captive Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus).

A 28-year-old female Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) housed in an outside exhibit at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, PA, began showing signs of weakness. Toxicosis with an anticoagulant rodenticide was suspected because its mate had died 1 day earlier from possible brodifacoum poisoning. A rapid decline in the packed cell volume, despite vitamin K1 treatment, necessitated a blood transfusion with blood from bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and Steller's sea eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus). Supportive therapy after transfusion included vitamin K1 (5 mg/kg IM q12h) as well as enrofloxacin, vitamin B complex, selenium and vitamin E, and subcutaneous fluids as needed. After a 39-day treatment period, a tapering dosage of vitamin K1 was initiated, and treatment ended after 17 weeks. However, 2 weeks later, the bird suffered from a potential relapse. It was successfully treated with a repeat tapering vitamin K1 regimen lasting a total of 4 months.

Investigating the impact of large carcass feeding on the behavior of captive Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) and its perception by zoo visitors.

Naturalistic feeding methods, such as the provision of whole carcasses to zoo animals, are potentially controversial because zoo visitors might not approve of them. However, since several species of zoo animals feed from large carcasses in the wild, this food type could benefit their welfare in captivity compared to other less-natural food types. Scavengers in particular almost exclusively live on carcasses in nature; therefore, their welfare in captivity could significantly depend on the opportunity to express behaviors related to carcass feeding. In this study, we assessed the frequency of carcass feeding for vultures in North American zoos and investigated the effect of different food types on the behavior of zoo-housed Andean condors (Vultur gryphus). We also evaluated the opinion of North American zoo visitors about carcass feeding. Our results show that small whole carcasses (rats, rabbits) are part of the diet of vultures in most North American zoos, but large whole carcasses (ungulates) are rarely fed. Our behavioral study indicated that Andean condors appear to be more motivated to feed on more natural food types, which also seem to physically engage the birds more and occupy them longer. Most zoo visitors approved of carcass feeding for captive vultures over a range of prey animals, and the majority would also like to observe the vultures eat. Collectively, our results demonstrate that carcass feeding, particularly with larger prey, potentially enriches both zoo-housed vultures as well as the visitor experience.

First metagenomic analysis of the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) gut microbiome reveals microbial diversity and wide resistome.

Background: The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) is the largest scavenger in South America. This predatory bird plays a crucial role in their ecological niche by removing carcasses. We report the first metagenomic analysis of the Andean condor gut microbiome. Methods: This work analyzed shotgun metagenomics data from a mixture of fifteen captive Chilean Andean condors. To filter eukaryote contamination, we employed BWA-MEM v0.7. Taxonomy assignment was performed using Kraken2 and MetaPhlAn v2.0 and all filtered reads were assembled using IDBA-UD v1.1.3. The two most abundant species were used to perform a genome reference-guided assembly using MetaCompass. Finally, we performed a gene prediction using Prodigal and each gene predicted was functionally annotated. InterproScan v5.31-70.0 was additionally used to detect homology based on protein domains and KEGG mapper software for reconstructing metabolic pathways. Results: Our results demonstrate concordance with the other gut microbiome data from New World vultures. In the Andean condor, Firmicutes was the most abundant phylum present, with Clostridium perfringens, a potentially pathogenic bacterium for other animals, as dominating species in the gut microbiome. We assembled all reads corresponding to the top two species found in the condor gut microbiome, finding between 94% to 98% of completeness for Clostridium perfringens and Plesiomonas shigelloides, respectively. Our work highlights the ability of the Andean condor to act as an environmental reservoir and potential vector for critical priority pathogens which contain relevant genetic elements. Among these genetic elements, we found 71 antimicrobial resistance genes and 1,786 virulence factors that we associated with several adaptation processes.

Exposure to Anthropogenic Areas May Influence Colonization by Zoonotic Microorganisms in Scavenging Birds.

Wild bird species have commonly been implicated as potential vectors of pathogens to other species, humans included. However, the habitat where birds live could influence the probability to acquire these pathogens. Here, we evaluated if the characteristics of the environment used by obligate scavenging birds (vultures) influence their colonization by zoonotic pathogens. For this, we particularly focused on Salmonella spp., a zoonotic pathogen commonly present in bird species. The occurrence of this bacteria was evaluated in free ranging Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) using natural environments from Argentina and compared with those obtained from condors under human care. In addition, we compared our results with those reported for other wild vultures using natural and anthropized environments at a global scale. We did not find Salmonella spp. in samples of wild condors. Captive condor samples presented Salmonella spp. with an occurrence of 2.8%, and one isolate of Meticilin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, among other potential pathogenic microorganisms. Moreover, some species of free ranging vultures from diverse geographical areas using anthropized environments tend to present higher occurrences of Salmonella spp. These results highlight the importance of pristine ecosystems to protect vultures' health toward pathogenic microorganisms that can produce disease in these birds, but also in other species. We call for more studies evaluating differences in occurrence of zoonotic pathogens in vultures according to the quality of the environment they use. Even when vultures have not been implicated in zoonotic pathogen spread, our results add information to evaluate potential events of pathogen spillover between vultures and from these birds to other species.

Human-Wildlife Conflicts in the Southern Yungas: What Role do Raptors Play for Local Settlers?

Wildlife persecution due to human-wildlife conflict has become a serious concern for biodiversity conservation, especially for many endangered species. In this context, conservation approaches need to consider the socio-ecological dimensions of each particular situation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the existence, extent and social characteristics of Human-Raptor Conflicts (HRC) in the Southern Yungas region in northwestern Argentina. We conducted 115 semi-structured interviews in 21 sites and analyzed attitudes and associations between sociodemographic variables and the existence of HRC. Forty percent of interviewees showed negative attitudes towards raptors, mainly with those species considered livestock predators rather than poultry predators. A total of 11 species were regarded as conflictive because of predation on domestic animals, of which Andean condors showed the highest conflict. The only socio-demographic factor affecting conflicts was livestock and poultry rearing, independently of age, gender and occupation of interviewees. The fact that only 8.7% of interviewees reported taking direct actions towards conflictive species indicates a relatively peaceful coexistence of people with raptors. Nevertheless, negative attitudes towards Andean condor together with their extreme susceptibility to any increase in non-natural mortality indicate the need of an integral conservation approach to tackle future threats for this species' conservation in the area.

Variabilidad genética del ADN mitocondrial de Vultur gryphus (cóndor andino) en Cusco y Apurímac a partir de plumas de muda / Genetic variability of mitochondrial DNA of Vultur gryphus (Andean Condor) in Cusco and Apurimac from molting feathers

Resumen La variabilidad genética intrapoblacional de Vultur gryphus (cóndores andinos) de las regiones de Cusco y Apurímac fue evaluada mediante amplificación y secuenciación del ADN mitocondrial correspondientes a la región control y subunidad ribosomal 12S (D-Loop-ARNr12S), y a los genes Citocromo Oxidasa subunidad I (COI) y NADH deshidrogenasa subunidad II (ND2). El ADN se extrajo a partir de cálamos de plumas de muda de ejemplares en cautiverio y silvestres. Se analizaron los principales índices de diversidad genética como son: la diversidad haplotípica, la diversidad nucleotídica, el número promedio de diferencias nucleotídicas y el número de sitios polimórficos. La tasa de éxito de amplificación mediante PCR fue de 100% para las tres regiones de ADN analizadas. Se secuenció 600 pb de la región D-Loop-ARNr12S caracterizándose cuatro haplotipos, 704 pb del gen COI caracterizándose seis haplotipos y 1090 pb del gen ND2 caracterizándose cinco haplotipos. El gen COI presentó el mayor valor de diversidad haplotípica (Hd = 0.468), la región del gen D-Loop-ARNr12S presentó el mayor índice de diversidad nucleotídica (π = 0.00086), mientras que el gen COI presentó el mayor número promedio de diferencias nucleotídicas (K = 0.52615). Los resultados muestran bajos niveles de variabilidad genética en los genes mitocondriales de los cóndores andinos de la zona de estudio, que indicarían una población con estructura genética homogénea.

Abstract The intrapopulation genetic variability of Vultur gryphus (Andean condors) from Cusco and Apurimac regions was evaluated by amplification and sequencing of mitochondrial DNA corresponding to the control region and 12S ribosomal subunit (D-Loop-RNAr12S), Cytochrome Oxidase subunit I (COI) genes and NADH dehydrogenase subunit II (ND2) gene. DNA was extracted from the calamus of feathers recollected from captive and wild specimens. The main indices of genetic diversity such as the haplotype diversity, the nucleotide diversity, the average number of nucleotide differences and the number of polymorphic sites were analyzed. The PCR amplification success rate was 100% for the three mitochondrial amplified sequences. Four haplotypes were identified from the 600 bp sequenced of D-Loop-RNAr12S region; six haplotypes from the 704 bp sequenced of the COI gene; five haplotypes from the 1090 bp sequenced of the ND2 gene. The COI gene presented the highest haplotype diversity (Hd = 0.468), the D-Loop-RNAr12S region presented the highest index of nucleotide diversity (π = 0.00086), while the COI gene presented the highest average number of nucleotide differences (K = 0.52615). The results show low levels of genetic variability in the mitochondrial genes of the Andean Condor in the study area, indicating a population with a homogeneous genetic structure.