SURVEY OF LEAD TOXICOSIS IN FREE-RANGING RAPTORS FROM CENTRAL ARGENTINA

MIGUEL D. SAGGESE; AGUSTÍN QUAGLIA; SERGIO A. LAMBERTUCCI; MARÍA S. BO; JOSÉ H. SARASOLA; ROBERTO PEREYRA- LOBOS; JUAN J. MACEDA

Ingestion of Spent Lead Ammunition: Implications for Wildlife and Humans.

The Peregrine Fund DOI 10.4080/ilsa.2009.0211

Lugar: Boise, Idaho.; Año: 2009; p. 223 - 231

Lead toxicosis is a worldwide recognized problem in raptors that has seriously impacted the recovery efforts of several endangered species. Vultures, eagles and kites are commonly affected because, as scavengers, they ingest lead ammunition residues when feeding on the remains of gun-killed animals. In South America, lead toxicosis in birds has been scarcely investigated. Raptors have been occasionally reported with the presumptive diagnosis of lead poisoning in hunting areas of central Argentina, although no systematic surveys have been conducted. Given the current understanding and knowledge we have on lead toxicosis in raptors in other parts of the world, the intense year-round wildlife hunting activities occurring in central Argentina, and the clinical diagnosis of lead poisoning in some birds presented to rehabilitation centers, we hypothesize that scavenging birds of prey in central Argentina could be systematically exposed to this heavy metal. Recently, we detected lead in the blood and bones of Argentine solitary crowned eagles (Harpyhaliaetus coronatus), a severely endangered species from central and northern Argentina. Together with recent findings of lead in Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) and in waterfowl, these studies are a first step to determine the extent of this problem in Argentine birds. Systematic studies of lead toxicity in wild birds in Argentina are needed in order to educate hunters toward a switch to non-lead substitutes. Further studies are aimed at evaluating this problem in a large number of species in several areas of central Argentina.