# 53 bicycles: A lateral thinking puzzle **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [July 9, 2017, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868 "2017-07-09T19:51:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 122
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2018, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2421 "2018-01-28T00:26:51Z")
Is the fact that carrion is not being consumed as much by vultures related to the increase in rabies? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2018, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2422 "2018-01-28T03:30:25Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Is the fact that carrion is not being consumed as much by vultures related to the increase in rabies? Yes. Still not solved, but certainly things are moving that way. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2018, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2423 "2018-01-28T13:20:17Z")
Is some mammal moving into the carrion-eating niche which is being vacated by vultures? Is it specifically cow carrion which is relevant? Is some means of transmission of rabies relevant other than the usual “infected animal bites non-infected animal”? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2018, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2424 "2018-01-28T20:52:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Is some mammal moving into the carrion-eating niche which is being vacated by vultures? YES > > Is it specifically cow carrion which is relevant? YES > > Is some means of transmission of rabies relevant other than the usual “infected animal bites non-infected animal”? NO KK ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2425 "2018-01-29T00:55:19Z")
Is the mammalian carrion-eater rats? Is it jackals? Is it dogs? In any event, I’m going to take a stab: Vultures are diminishing in number, which is leading to a boom in the population of \ to eat all of the carcasses of dead cows which humans won’t eat. Because of a greater number of said animals, there are a greater number of them with rabies, who are sometimes passing it on to humans. Though I’m not sure why the vulture numbers would be down. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2426 "2018-01-29T01:06:54Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Is the mammalian carrion-eater rats? NO > Is it jackals? NO > Is it dogs? YES(wild dogs) > > In any event, I’m going to take a stab: Vultures are diminishing in number, which is leading to a boom in the population of \ to eat all of the carcasses of dead cows which humans won’t eat. Because of a greater number of said animals, there are a greater number of them with rabies, who are sometimes passing it on to humans. > > **Though I’m not sure why the vulture numbers would be down.** Your summary is right for the most part. The solution requires determining what happened to the vulture population, though. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2427 "2018-01-29T02:00:18Z")
Is the reduction in vulture population due to human intervention? Is the reduction in vulture population due to disease? Is the reduction in vulture population due to the introduction of a competing species not native to India? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2428 "2018-01-29T02:48:06Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Is the reduction in vulture population due to human intervention? YES > > Is the reduction in vulture population due to disease? NO > > Is the reduction in vulture population due to the introduction of a competing species not native to India? NO kk ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2429 "2018-01-29T13:55:49Z")
Has India recently legalised DDT (or some similar pesticide) to improve agriculture/combat malaria, and this has been passed up the food chain, killing vultures? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2430 "2018-01-29T13:57:47Z")
> [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > Has India recently legalised DDT (or some similar pesticide) to improve agriculture/combat malaria, and this has been passed up the food chain, killing vultures? NO ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2431 "2018-01-29T15:41:52Z")
Are people deliberately killing the vultures? Because they are a vector for another disease? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2432 "2018-01-29T16:33:44Z")
Were vultures trapped and removed? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2433 "2018-01-29T17:03:25Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Are people deliberately killing the vultures? NO > Because they are a vector for another disease? NO > [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Were vultures trapped and removed?NO No to everything. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2434 "2018-01-29T17:40:13Z")
Is it something (non-pesticide) that is human-introduced in the food chain that is killing the vultures? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2435 "2018-01-29T20:36:38Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Is it something (non-pesticide) that is human-introduced in the food chain that is killing the vultures? Yes, and it’s pretty interesting(I think, anyway). ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2436 "2018-01-29T21:20:48Z")
OK, is it an antibiotic that is given to cattle that is killing the vultures? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2018, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2437 "2018-01-29T23:34:38Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > OK, is it an antibiotic that is given to cattle that is killing the vultures? Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2438 "2018-01-30T01:56:04Z")
Is it \*something \*that is given to cattle that is killing the vultures? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2439 "2018-01-30T02:10:11Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Is it \*something \*that is given to cattle that is killing the vultures? Yes. I know it seems like I’m just making you guess an endless list of things that could be given to cattle, but I’m not. There is a point to it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2440 "2018-01-30T02:10:51Z")
Is it anything that humans are deliberately doing to kill or hinder vultures? Is it something that humans are deliberately doing to kill or hinder some other animal species? Is it something that humans are not deliberately doing, but which is a byproduct of some other human activity? Is it something that is only relevant to vultures because of bioamplification (the tendency for creatures higher on the food chain to get higher doses of contaminants)? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=121) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=123)