India, April 9 -- Could a dead goat poisoned to kill free-ranging dogs have been the cause of death for 25 vultures in Semaria village of Bahadurnagar gram panchayat in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district?

That question is lingering in the minds of many locals and officials after the discovery of bird carcasses sent shockwaves in the area.

Devendra Singh, sarpanch of the village, told Down to Earth that this was the first time such a large number of vultures were seen in his gram panchayat. He added that there are a lot of stray or free-ranging dogs in the village. "These dogs live in packs and kill 7-8 goats at a time. Three days ago, these dogs had hunted goats in Dimraul panchayat," said Singh.

According to Singh, someone had p...