8 critically endangered vultures released into wild

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, October 8

After years of grit and determination, eight critically endangered white-rumped vultures, six of them captive-bred, were reintroduced into the wild for the first time in India from the vulture conservation and breeding centre near here today.

Landmark occasion

For biologists, the release of the vultures is a landmark occasion after January 2007 when the first white-rumped chick was born in captivity at the vulture conservation and breeding centre .

About released vultures

• The released vultures, comprising six captive-bred and two rescued ones from the wild, are seven to eight years old.
• Each of them had been attached to a 30-gram device for satellite transmitter, which monitors their movement and survival.

Nepal was the first country in Asia to release eight captive-bred white-rumped vultures in November 2017, but this release was the first in India and a major step. -  Vibhu Prakash, Principal Scientist, BNHS

The centre was set up in the lower Shivaliks in September 2001. For biologists, the release of the vultures is a landmark occasion after January 2007 when the first white-rumped chick was born in captivity at the centre.

“The release of vultures is a great occasion for the biologists across the globe. The next crucial step is ensuring the safety of the environment in vulture safe zone, said Vibhu Prakash, Principal Scientist, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and centre head, said.

The released vultures, comprising six captive-bred and two rescued ones from the wild, are seven to eight years old.

Each of them had been attached to a 30-gram device for satellite transmitter, which monitors their movement and survival, Prakash said.

He said Nepal was the first country in Asia to release eight captive-bred white-rumped vultures in November 2017, but this release was the first in India and a major step.

Not far from the bustling Chandigarh lies Asia’s largest breeding centre for vultures — the Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre. The centre is located on the edge of the Bir Shikargaha Wildlife Sanctuary in Morni hills, where the eight vultures were released.

It is a joint project of Haryana and the BNHS, which has had major support from the UK’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the Rufford Foundation and the British government’s Darwin Initiative for the Survival of Species Fund — to establish the centre and investigate the catastrophic declines of three critically endangered Gyps species of vultures in India.

The Bir Shikargaha sanctuary has been declared a vulture safe zone. The sanctuary extends transboundary into Himachal Pradesh where the wildlife awareness among the villagers is quite high.

“We will monitor the behaviour of vultures in the wild through satellite transmitters. If any of the released vultures dies or gets injured, we can quickly recover them and determine what happened. The satellite telemetry will be the key for us to know the cause of death and prevent other vultures dying from that cause,” he said.