Vulture
population decline and the conservation initiatives
The vultures,
nature’s most efficient scavengers, are on the verge of
extinction. Nine species of vultures are recorded from the Indian
subcontinent, of which, five belong to the genus Gyps while the
others are monotypic. Historically, and until recently, the
White-backed vulture Gyps bengalensis, Long-billed vulture
Gyps indicus and Slender-billed Gyps tenuerostris
vultures were by far the most populous species in India. Over the
last decade, however, there has been a drastic crash in the
populations of these vultures over most parts of the country. The
population of the two species of wintering Gyps species (Eurasian
griffon, Gyps fulvous and Himalayan griffon, Gyps
himalayensis) appears to have increased markedly in recent
years. None of the other four species of vultures found in India
appear to be as much affected.
Rapid vulture
population declines were first documented in a breeding colony of
White-backed vulture in Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur,
Rajasthan, by the Bombay Natural History Society. Numbers of
breeding pairs in the Park declined steadily through the late
1990s and by 2000 there were no breeding pairs left. Data on
population changes over a wider area were obtained by repeating a
road transects survey of raptor populations carried out across a
large area of northern India in 1991 – 1993. Repeat coverage of
transects in year 2000 indicated that the vulture declines
extended across all of northern and central India and occurred for
Long-billed vultures and Slender-billed vultures combined (these
two species had not been distinguished from each other at that
time) as well as for White-backed vultures.
The major
ecological factors, which could cause a population crash, i.e.
food and nest site availability, were not a problem. A survey
conducted in Bharatpur district, Rajasthan, in December 1999
revealed that approximately 2500 cattle die every month, providing
about 2,00,000 kg of meat for scavengers. This quantity is enough
to feed about 13,000 vultures. Also, there appeared to be no
paucity of nest sites, as in June 1999 more than 4000 potential
nest sites were estimated in the Keoladeo National Park. Other
plausible reasons for the decline in vulture population are the
bioaccumulation of pesticides or an epidemic of infectious
disease. It was noticed in Bharatpur that most of the vultures
appeared sick: they were often seen perched with the neck hanging
limp. The vultures which showed these symptoms would invariably
die in about a month from the day the symptom manifests. While
in this state of ill health, however, they continued to feed and
became alert if disturbed.
Actions by
BNHS and other agencies
(i) Following
the results from Keoladeo National Park, a Vulture Alert was
sounded in November 1998 to alert the scientific community to the
problem and to encourage further investigations. This was
distributed widely throughout India and internationally via the
internet. An updated Vulture Alert was similarly distributed in
August 1999.
(ii) On 6th
August 1999, a meeting was organised at BNHS, Mumbai, inviting
Indian vulture experts, bird watchers, wildlife veterinarians and
decision makers. There was representation from premier
conservation organisations including Wildlife Institute of India,
Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, World Wide
Fund for Nature-India and Centre for Wildlife and Ornithology,
Aligarh. This meeting, held in Mumbai, was convened to solicit
opinions on the results from Bharatpur and to find out if similar
problems had been noticed elsewhere. There was a near-unanimous
opinion that vultures had declined across India and it was
resolved to conduct population surveys of vultures in areas of the
country where historical numbers were known. It was also decided
that permission should be sought to capture sick vultures for
observation in captivity by wildlife veterinarians.
(iii)
International support for this investigation was sought from
Birdlife International partner, the Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds (RSPB), U.K. As a result, Dr. Gidona Goodman,
a wildlife veterinarian from the Zoological Society of London,
visited Bharatpur in September 1999 to give advice on disease
investigations and captive husbandry.
(iv) Between
October and December 1999, three vulture carcasses were submitted
for veterinary investigation (one to Mathura Veterinary College
and two to the Wildlife Health Co-operative, Northern Region, at
Hisar Veterinary College). Visceral gout was found to be cause of
mortality.
(v) In December
1999, additional assistance was offered with the vulture
investigations from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service,
who were funding on-going raptor projects at the BNHS. The USFWS
sent Mr. Peter Bloom, an International Authority in trapping
raptors specially vultures for assisting in trapping and radio
telemetry studies. Dr. David Ferguson provided additional funding
for radio telemetry and vulture trapping and helped highlight the
vulture problem, internationally.
(vi) In
February 2000, again as a result of international assistance by
the RSPB, Dr. Andrew Cunningham, the wildlife pathologist at the
Zoological Society of London, visited Bharatpur and Hisar
Veterinary College to review progress and to advice on future
investigations. During his visit, Dr. Cunningham supervised a
post mortem examination on a vulture carcass. Following this, the
BNHS submitted a wide range of tissue samples to a number of
laboratories in India, including Hisar Veterinary College, the
Enterovirus Research Institute of ICMR, Mumbai, and the Poultry
Diagnostic and Research Center (PDRC) of Venkateshwara Hatcheries
Ltd., Pune.
(vii) On 24th
February, second meeting was held in Mumbai to discuss the vulture
decline. In addition to experts from across India, this meeting
was attended by Dr. Cunningham and Mr. Pete Wood from the RSPB.
At this meeting, further evidence for vulture decline throughout
the Indian subcontinent was presented, as were Dr. Cunningham’s
preliminary findings that the decline appeared to be due to an
infectious disease, most probably one caused by a virus. It
was unanimously decided in the meeting that an international
seminar should be held on the vulture situation in India to
further highlight this problem and also to seek national and
international help in finding the cause of vulture decline. The
BNHS was also urged to get in touch with the Poultry Diagnostic
and Research Center (PDRC), Pune, a premiere institute in avian
disease investigation, to explore the possibility of getting help
in vulture disease investigation.
viii. The
Poultry Diagnostic Laboratory at Pune readily accepted to help
BNHS in vulture disease investigation. This modern lab is backed
by an industrial group and does not have to face the resource
crunch, unlike other modern government labs. The BNHS and PDRC
worked in tandem in finding the cause of mortality in vultures.
(ix) In March
2000, the BNHS supplied tissues from the vultures that had been
examined post mortem to Dr. Muralidharan of Salim Ali Center for
Natural History and Ornithology (SACON) at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
and Dr. A. M. Bhagwat (EC Member, BNHS) of C. B. Patel Research
Centre for toxicological studies, Mumbai. The findings from these
studies indicated that chemical contaminants, such as pesticides,
were not implicated in the vulture declines.
(x) The Ministry
of Environment and Forests, Government of India funded BNHS to
carry out repeat vulture population surveys across the country.
From March to June 2000, the BNHS carried out vulture population
surveys in 13 national parks or sanctuaries and along multiple
stretches of highways throughout India. At all sites, only low
numbers of (or in some cases no) vultures were found. These
results indicated that there has been a catastrophic decline in
the vulture population all over the country. The surveys revealed
an alarming, 90% decline in the population of vultures. In a
number of places including certain best known protected areas of
the country such as Corbett, Keoladeo, Gir, Wild Ass, Navegaon
and Similipal National Parks, Buxa Tiger Reserve and Jaldapara
Wildlife Sanctuary there was a complete wipe out of Gyps
species of vultures.
(xi) The MOEF
organized a meeting and Bombay Natural History Society presented
details about the vulture decline all over the country. The
meeting was specially called by Mr. Vishawanath Anand, IAS,
Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of
India, on 31 July to discuss the alarming decline in vulture
population. In the meeting it was decided that the ministry would
write to all the state governments to issue permission to BNHS to
trap sick vultures for disease investigations. The major problem
in disease investigation had been getting freshly dead vultures in
wild for sample collection. Usually one comes across a vulture
carcass when it is two or three days old and is not very useful in
disease investigation.
(xii) The MOEF
sponsored an International Seminar on Vulture Situation in Indiafrom 18-20 September, 2000. The meeting was held at Conference
Hall of WWF-India, New Delhi. The meeting was attended by 55
experts including 10 overseas experts.
The International
Seminar was inaugurated by Chief Guest Mr. C. P. Oberoi, IFS,
Inspector General of Forests, Government of India.
The major
recommendations of the seminar were:
1. Grant
permission for and support the collection of dead, sick and
healthy vultures for the purpose of taking samples for analysis.
2. Grant
permission for and support the establishment of a captive
population of vultures as insurance against possible extinction
and as a resource for research and potential captive breeding.
(xiii)
Subsequent to the meeting, the MOEF granted permission to BNHS to
set up the first Vulture Care Centre, at Pinjore. The centre was
set up in collaboration with the Haryana Forest Department and was
funded by the Darwin Initiative for the survival of the species,
U.K. The government swiftly granted permission to utilize 1 acre
of land for setting up the centre and the work on the centre
started in September 2001. The first sick vulture arrived in the
centre in April 2002.
(xiv) Novel
herpes virus isolated from sick vultures
The results of
the pathological studies on vultures suggested the presence of an
infectious disease, probably of viral origin, during the year
2003. A herpes virus was isolated and sequenced from affected
vultures by the PDRC and the Australian Animal Health Laboratory.
This virus was shown to be present in tissues from vulture
carcasses collected across India and was found at the highest
concentrations in and around lesions in the central nervous
system. However, it was not clear whether the lesions were
sufficient to cause morbidity or death or whether the presence of
this virus was associated with any of the pathological signs
observed in birds found dead during the rapid population decline,
especially visceral gout.
(xv) Vulture
Recovery Plan
Based on the
information available on causes of vulture mortality and declines,
a Vulture Recovery Plan was released by Mr. S. C. Dhesi, IAS,
Principal Secretary and Finance Commissioner, Forests, Government
of Haryana, in presence of Mr. Bist, IFS, Inspector General
Forests, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India
on 16th February 2004. The recovery plan discusses
the various aspects of crash in vulture populations in South Asia
and suggests measures for the recovery of the vulture
populations. The major recommendations of the plan were prepared
and approved by top forest officers of various states, scientists
of the IUCN Species Specialist Group, The Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds, Zoological Society of London, The Peregrine
Fund, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bombay Natural History
Society, Zoological Survey of India, Wildlife Institute of India
and Central Zoo Authority, during the recovery plan workshop.
Important
recommendations of the plan are:
To ban the use of diclofenac as a veterinary drug
Initiate captive breeding programme at least at 6
locations in South Asia to save the vultures from imminent
extinction
(xvi)
Diclofenac- a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory veterinary drug
implicated in vulture declines
In January 2004,
Dr. Lindsey Oaks, of Washington State University, working with the
Peregrine Fund in Pakistan published his findings in Nature, a
prestigious journal for pioneering research. The study strongly
implicated diclofenac, a commonly used non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory veterinary drug, in vulture declines. He found
strong positive correlation between the presence of gout and
presence of diclofenac in vulture tissues. Evidence suggested
that the situation was broadly similar in India.
(xvii)
Nation-wide Repeat Annual Surveys
The teams of
Bombay Natural History Society carried out the repeat annual
survey at 18 protected areas across the country. Soon after the
separate identity of Long-billed vultures and
Slender-billed vultureswas recognized in 2001, surveys
repeated in 2002 and 2003 separated counts of these two species.
The minimum decline in White-backed vulture numbers in India
during the period 1992-2003 was 99.7% and 97.4% for
Long-billed/Slender-billed. This corresponds with a minimum
estimated rate of decline of 34% per year for White-backed
vultures and 27% per year for the Long-billed/Slender-billed
group. In the most recent census, there is evidence that the rate
of declines may be increasing with a measured 81% decline between
2002 and 2003 in White-backed vultures, a 59% decline in
Long-billed vultures, and a 47% decline for Slender-billed
vultures
Vulture
Research
1.
Monitoring of Gyps Vultures Nesting Colonies
The Gyps vultures
nesting colonies were identified and were monitored in different
parts of the country to get an idea of the present trend in the
population. A total of six White-backed, five Long-billed, and one
Slender-billed nesting colonies were monitored. The colonies are
monitored both by the vulture project biologists and BNHS member
volunteers. These member volunteers were provided training in
monitoring nesting colonies and for uniformity in data gathering
in a workshop held in January 2002.
a. Colony
monitoring by volunteers
The nesting
colonies being monitored by Society are located at Jaisalmer in
Rajasthan, Badisher in Haryana, Wynad in Kerala, Chiplun in
Maharashtra, Ahmedabad and Kutch in Gujarat, for White-backed
vultures. Colonies at Jodhpur and Sariska in Rajasthan, Panna and
Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh and Nasik in Maharashtra are
monitored for Long-billed vultures and one nesting colony of
Slender-billed vulture located at Majhauli in Assam. Out of these,
the following colonies are being monitored by volunteers. Mr. B.
Raha and Mr. Vishwas Katdare are monitoring the Long-billed and
White-backed vulture colonies in Nasik and Chiplun in Maharashtra.
Mr. Kartik Shastri and Mr. Shantilal Varu are monitoring the
White-backed vulture colonies at Ahmedabad & Kutch in Gujarat. Mr.
Sashi Kumar is monitoring the White-backed vulture colonies at
Wynad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala. Mr. Dilsher Khan is
monitoring Long-billed vulture colonies in Madhya Pradesh. Mr.
Mridu Paban Phukan is monitoring the Slender-billed vulture
colonyies at Majhauli in Assam. It was observed that the low
nesting success and high adult and post fledgling mortality causes
low recruitment in the population. The high adult and
post-fledgling mortality in the breeding population could cause
crash in vulture population.
b. Monitoring
of Long-billed vulture Colony at Bayana, Rajasthan.
The Long-billed
colony at Bayana is being continuously monitored since the last
five years.
There has been a
sharp decline in the number of nesting pairs in the colony. The
number of nesting pairs reduced from 72 pairs during 2000-2001 to
only 18 pairs in 2005-06. Very low nesting success was recorded
during all the years. The post juvenile mortality was unusually
high and in some years it was 100%. The average adult mortality of
10% was recorded in the colony.
2. Survey for
monitoring wintering Gyps species of vultures
Winter surveys
were carried out in Himachal Pradesh, Uttranchal, Rajasthan,
Gujarat, West Bengal and Haryana to find out the status of
wintering Gyps vultures, Himalayan Griffon and Eurasian Griffons.
The surveys were carried out in protected areas, outside protected
areas, along highways and at carcass dumps. There appears to be a
spurt in the population of Himalayan Griffon in most of the areas
and of Eurasian Griffon in western India. Very low population of
resident Gyps were recorded.
3. Meloxicam
safety testing
To suggest an
alternative, safety testing of the drug Meloxicam on the
White-backed and Long-billed vultures and other scavenging birds
which feed along with vultures was carried out at the Vulture
Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore. The testing was carried out
in three phases. The recommended doses of drug were given orally
(by gavage) to White-backed and Long-billed vultures during the
first phase and to the four species of other scavenging birds
during the second phase. The vultures were fed on the meat and fat
of buffaloes which were treated with the recommended doses of
Meloxicam during the third phase.The team from Indian Veterinary
Research Institute, Izzat Nagar, led by Dr. Swarup, Head of
Medicine, carried out the testing. The blood samples were
collected before giving the Meloxicam and also 48 hrs and 72 hrs
after giving the Meloxicam. There was no adverse reaction to the
drug. The vultures and other scavenging birds remained healthy
and no clinical signs suggestive of toxicity were observed
following administration of Meloxicam. No statistical variation
in hematological and biochemical parameters was observed in
birds.The study provided enough evidence to suggest that the drug
Meloxicam was totally safe for vultures and other scavenging
birds. It is known to be as effective in treating cattle as
Diclofenac is.
VULTURE
CONSERVATION BREEDING PROGRAMME
The conservation
breeding of vultures became the most important objective of the
project after the release of Vulture Recovery Plan in February
2004. The major recommendation of the plan was to set up at least
three conservation breeding facilities in India immediately, and
ultimately six across south Asia.
A simple
deterministic model of a captive vulture population and the wild
population eventually derived from it indicates that a breeding
centre with 25 pairs would be capable of producing a derived wild
population of 100 pairs about 10 years after the beginning of
releases. A minimum of 60 birds would be required to establish 25
pairs of each species at each breeding centre. Releases would not
begin until a minimum of 6 years had elapsed since the capture of
the founding stocks (assuming that most of the founders are taken
as nestlings or juveniles). To allow for mortality in captivity
and unequal numbers of the sexes taken from the wild, it would be
necessary to take about 60 birds of each species from the wild to
initiate a centre which would eventually lead to the restoration
of a single wild population of 100 pairs, 16 or more years later.
Ideally, six
centres should be established in south Asia and at least four in
India. Thus, six populations of each species and each captive
population can provide enough birds to assure sustainable wild
populations. The suggested age-structure of the founder
population should be 70-85% of known-age nestlings, 10-15%
sub-adults, and rest adults so that most of the captive population
is of known-age and are most likely to breed.
Based on the
recommendation of the Vulture Recovery Plan, the Vulture Care
Centre at Pinjore was expanded into a Conservation Breeding centre
(VCBC) and it was decided to set up another centre at Raja Baht
Khawa, West Bengal.
Breeding
Centres
1. Vulture
Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore
Situated at the
base of the Shivalik ranges of Himalayan foot hills, the Vulture
Conservation Breeding Centre, lies at the edge of Bir Shikargah
Wildlife Sanctuary, 8 km from Pinjore, off the Chandigarh-Shimla
highway. The Centre spreads over 5 acres of Haryana Forest
department’s land in village Jodhpur near Pinjore.
A. Vultures at
the centre
A total of 116
vultures are housed at the centre. Of these, 45 are White-backed
vultures, 55 Long-billed vultures, 14 Slender-billed vultures, and
2 Himalayan griffons. All the vultures have a plastic ring, a
wing tag, and a transponder for individual identification.
B.
Infrastructure
a. Aviaries
The centre
consists of 16 nursery aviaries, 2 hospital aviaries, 2 quarantine
aviaries, 1 holding aviary and 3 colony aviaries
i. Nursery
aviaries
This aviary of
dimensions 10”x10”x8” has a capacity of rearing at least 4
nestlings at a time. They are designed to provide natural nest
like environment for the successful rearing.
ii. Hospital
aviaries
These aviaries
house injured and sick birds. The centre has two hospital aviaries
with capacity to hold 4 vultures in each. The aviaries are of
dimensions 20”x20”x16”.
iii. Quarantine aviaries
These aviaries
house birds when they are brought to the centre. The birds are
kept in these aviaries for 45 days before they are introduced in
colony or holding aviaries. The centre has two quarantine aviaries
with capacity to hold 4 vultures in each. The aviaries are of
dimensions 20”x20”x16”.
iv. Holding
aviary
The centre has
one holding aviary of dimensions 60’x18’x40’ and capacity to hold
20 birds. This was also utilized as quarantine aviary earlier and
any bird brought to the centre was first kept in this aviary and
its health was monitored for a month. This aviary is now utilized
to keep birds until they are shifted to colony aviaries.
v. Colony
aviaries
(There are 3
colony aviaries of dimensions 100”x40”x20” housing juveniles,
adults and sub-adult birds of a species, after they have been
quarantined for at least 45 days. These aviaries are large enough
for the birds to do wing exercises by flying from one end to
another and feed communally on carcasses, exactly as they do in
the wild.
vi.
Temporary quarantine aviaries
Temporary
quarantine aviaries of dimensions20’X20’X12’ were
specially erected in village Nandpur, 5 kms from the centre,
to house the vultures, brought from Gujarat. The aviaries are
made up of iron pipes and netlon. They can be easily erected and
pulled down within couple of days. Wooden perches wound with coir
ropes and water troughs have been provided with. The area around
the facility has a chain link fence to prevent trespassers and
wild and domestic animals.
b. Laboratory
The centre has a
fully equipped clinical pathology lab and hospital. It has a
hematology room, biochemistry room, molecular room, freezer room,
post-mortem room, monitoring room and store room. The hematology
lab is equipped with microscopes, centrifuge, haemacue, blood
mixer and other equipment necessary for blood analysis. The
bio-chemistry lab has a sophisticated bio-chemistry analyzer of
Synermed company. This fully automatic machine analyses the blood
chemistry in a matter of minutes. The uric acid, creatine and
albumin levels are specially monitored.
The molecular lab
has a PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) machine, a UV reader, gel
plate and associated equipment. The machine is used for sexing
birds. The lab also has an ELISA reader and associated equipments
to determine presence of diclofenac in tissues of cattle
carcasses. A freezer room has three -18°C freezers to store
samples. A monitoring room has the CCTV camera monitors from where
birds in the cages are regularly monitored. This allows
undisturbed observations of bird behaviour.
c. Electricity supply:
A 3 phase electric connection has been installed to ensure good
voltage and a 8KV generator for back up, in case of power
failure. An inverter has also been installed for uninterrupted
power supply.
d. Perimeter
fencing:
A five feet high chain link perimeter fence covers five acres of
the area to keep away the stray animals and trespassers.
e. Close
circuit television cameras: CCTV camerashave been installed in the three colony
aviaries. The monitor is kept in the laboratory. The camera can
rotate almost 180º and can also move 90º up and down. The optical
zoom is 28 X which gives a very clear picture of the birds
wherever perched in the aviary. Video recording is also
possible. The birds have got used to the CCTV and do not show any
signs of nervousness, when operated. It is now possible to get
quality information on behaviour, pairing, health condition, and
nesting attempts without disturbing the birds.
C. Routine
Vulture Husbandry and Care at VCBC
a. Feeding
the vultures
The vultures are
scavengers. They do not hunt but feed on dead animals to survive.
At the VCBC, they are fed twice a week on goat meat. One vulture
is fed 3 kilos of meat in a week which is equivalent to consuming
5 % of its body weight every day. The vultures are given freshly
slaughtered goat carcasses, after removing the skin. The VCBC
maintains its herd of goats to ensure that the vulture food is
free of killer-drug diclofenac.
b. Water
supply
All aviaries have
water troughs which can be filled and emptied from outside,
without entering the aviary. Troughs are cleaned and fresh water
is filled once a week. Care is taken that no algal growth develops
in water.
c. Perches
Perches are
positioned strategically and usually above human height. Coconut
rope is wound around the perches for giving them a rough surface.
This prevents foot problems in large birds.
B. Vulture
Conservation Breeding Centre, Raja Bhat Khawa, West Bengal
The centre is
located 15 km from the nearest big town of Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri
district, North Bengal. It is just outside the Buxa National Park
within the Rajabhatkhawa range.
The West Bengal
government has given BNHS permissive possession of 5 acres of land
for fifteen years to establish the centre. A memorandum of
understanding has been signed between the Forest Department of
West Bengal and Bombay Natural History Society for a 15 years
collaboration for the Conservation Breeding Programme at Raja Baht
Khawa.
1. Vultures at
the centre
In all, 16
vultures are housed at the centre, of which 12 are Slender-billed,
3 White-backed and 1 Himalayan Griffon.
2.
Infrastructure
The centre has
three quarantine aviaries, one hospital aviary, two nursery
aviaries, one display aviary and one colony aviary. The aviaries
are designed on the same plan as have been done in Pinjore.
3. Laboratory
A building, for
setting up a laboratory, has been given by the forest department.
The building has been repaired and the laboratory has been set
up. Basic hematology lab, postmortem room and facility for
storing samples have been developed.
4. Perimeter
Energised Fence
Conflict with
wildlife is a daily occurrence in this evergreen forest. To avoid
this, the centre is fenced by six feet high perimeter energized
fence which has eight strands of wire of which five are energized
and have 11 KV current flowing through. The current does not harm
the animal but just gives it a good thud which deters them from
coming back. It runs on solar panels which are installed at the
site.
5. Office and
Staff Accommodation
The building
allotted to the project for office and accommodation is an old
forest rest house known as Tiger lodge. It is a two storied wooden
building, standing on stilts, with four rooms, two on the ground
floor and two on the first floor. There are covered balconies in
front of the rooms overlooking the forest. Al the data generated
is electronically stored in computer system at the office. The
building houses a small library and accommodation for the centre
manager and the veterinarian.
Highlights of
the Vulture Conservation Breeding Programme
1.
Inauguration of Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre,
Rajabhatkhawa
The second
Vulture Conservation Breeding centre was formally inaugurated by
Mr. Ananta Roy, Hon’ble Minister-in-charge, Department of Forests,
Government of West Bengal on 7th September, 2006, in
presence of Hon’ble Mr. Simon Wilson, British Dy. High
Commissioner, Eastern region. The Minister unveiled the plaque at
the Centre and then he along with the Dy. High Commissioner were
given a guided tour of the centre. They also jointly inaugurated
the first colony aviary of the centre by releasing a White-backed
vulture each in the aviary. The Minister was highly appreciative
of the efforts of BNHS and West Bengal forest department in
establishing the centre. He thanked the Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds and Darwin Initiative for funding. Mr. Wilson
complimented the West Bengal Government for taking initiative in
providing land and infrastructure support for establishing the
centre. He said that all the attention of world conservation
committee is on this centre for saving the critically endangered
vultures from extinction. Mr. Wilson also released the newsletter,
“Jatayu” of the project. Mr. Mondal, PCCF and Chief Wildlife
warden, Mr. Ujjawal Bhattacharya, CCF (Wildlife) and other top
forest officers from West Bengal were present at the inauguration.
Mr. Chris Bowden, Director, Vulture Programmed represented the
international partnership in vulture conservation breeding
programme.
2. Signing of
Memorandum of Understanding
A memorandum of
understanding was signed between the Haryana Forest Department and
Bombay Natural History Society for the long term collaboration in
Vulture Conservation Breeding Program on 2nd May 2006.
The impressive signing ceremony was held at the Chief Minister’s
Committee room at Haryana Secretariat, Chandigarh. This
demonstrates the importance that Haryana government accords to the
vulture breeding programme. The signing ceremony was presided over
by the Haryana Forest Minister Ms. Kiran Choudhury. The MOU was
signed by Dr. R.D. Jakati, IFS, CWLW, on behalf of forest
department and by Dr. A. R. Rahmani, Director, on behalf of BNHS
in the presence of the Forest Minister, Forest Secretary, Mr,
Jain, IAS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Mr. J.P.L.
Srivastava, IFS, Director, Animal Husbandry, Mr. Dangi and other
top forest officers of Haryana. The Minister in her speech pledged
support of Haryana Government to vulture conservation breeding
program. The signing ceremony was recorded and was broadcasted on
National Television, Doordarshan on the 12 May 2006.
Signing of the
contract will ensure the smooth functioning of the centre and
long-term commitment of Haryana Government and BNHS to vulture
conservation breeding program.
3. Visit of
dignitaries to Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre
a. U.K.
Minister visits VCBC, Pinjore
Mr. Jim Knight,
UK Minister for Rural development, Biodiversity and Landscapes,
visited the Centre on 4th February 2006 to understand
vulture conservation efforts and get an idea about how the money,
a grant of Darwin Initiative, was being spent. He was accompanied
by Mr. Jain, IAS, Principal Secretary, Forests, Haryana, Mr. J. P.
L. Srivastava, IFS, PCCF, Dr. J. K. Rawat, APCCF, Mr. Rao Dhan
Singh, Parliamentary Secretary of Haryana State Assembly, and
various Forest Department and District level officials. He was
received at the centre by Dr. Mark Avery, Director, Conservation,
RSPB, Mr. Chris Bowden, Director, Vulture Programme, RSPB, and Dr.
Asad R. Rahmani, Director, BNHS. He was given a guided tour of the
centre. Mr. Knight also interacted with the Press and attended the
lunch hosted by the Forest Department. He was very happy with his
visit and commented during the press meet that the Darwin money
was being well spent. He congratulated the Haryana forest
department and Bombay Natural History Society for the excellent
work being done at the centre.
b. Visit of
Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forest and Additional
Director General (Wildlife) to VCBC, Pinjore
Dr. Prodipto
Ghosh, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests,
Government of India and Mr. R.P.S. Katwal, IFS, Additional
Director General of Forests (Wildlife), MOEF, Govt. of India,
visited the centre at Pinjore on 15th January 2005. Dr.
Ghosh and Mr. Katwal were first welcomed at the Van Bhavan,
Panchkula by Mr. L.S.M. Salins, IAS, Financial Commissioner and
Principal Secretary, Government of Haryana, Mr. J.P.L.
Srivastava, IFS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, other top
forest officials of Haryana and Dr. A. R. Rahmani, Director, BNHS.
An hour-long comprehensive presentation on the vulture situation
in India was given by Dr. Vibhu Prakash, Principal Scientist, BNHS.
The guests then visited the vulture conservation breeding centre.
Dr. Prakash took the distinguished guests on a conducted tour of
the centre. The vulture trapping techniques were demonstrated by
the ace BNHS trapper Mr. Ali Hassan to the guests. The Secretary
and the ADG were highly appreciative of this initiative of Haryana
Forest Department and BNHS and congratulated them for the work
being carried out.
4. Collection
of nestlings for conservation breeding programme
During the months
of March and April 2006, collection of nestlings was the major
activity of the project. The nestlings were collected as the
objective of the vulture recovery plan was that 70% of the
breeding stock should be juveniles, as these are likely to be
better breeders in the long term. Besides collection of nestlings,
trapping of juveniles was also carried out during the year.
Twenty-six Long-billed nestlings were collected. Sixteen were
collected from Maharashtra and 10 from Madhya Pradesh. Three
nestlings of White-backed vultures were also collected. Two were
collected from Chiplun, Maharashtra and one from Haryana.
5. Injured
birds transported from Gujarat to Pinjore, VCBC
Twenty-one
White-backed vultures were brought to the centre from the Animal
Health Foundation, a voluntary organization which looks after sick
and dying, stray animals in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, during April 2006.
Every year during kite flying, which is part of the festival ‘Uttrayan’,
a good number of birds get serious injuries due to kite strings.
Powdered glass is used to coat the kite strings to give it a razor
sharp edge which enables to cut strings of other kites during a
duel. The flying birds get entangled in these strings and suffer
serious injuries. Many birds suffer acute wing damage and are
maimed for life, while many die of excessive bleeding.
6.
First Slender-billed vulture in captivity
The first
Slender-billed, the most critically endangered vulture in the
world and perhaps the most endangered raptor, was brought into
captivity for the conservation breeding programme. In early
December 2005, the vulture was caught at Dholla, Tinsukhia
district, Assam and was flown to Delhi from Guwahati. So far, 23
sub-adults and juvenile Slender-billed vultures have been caught
and are being reared for the conservation breeding programmed at
Pinjore and Raj Bhat Khawa. This is possibly the only population
of Slender-billed’s in captivity the world over. According to our
estimate less than 200 pairs survive in wild. The bird is endemic
to south and south-east Asia.
7.
First nesting attempt by White-backed vultures, Gyps
bengalensis in captivity at VCBC, Pinjore
Two pairs of
White-backed vultures attempted breeding in colony aviary at VCBC,
Pinjore. One pair nested on a concrete ledge while the other on a
ledge of jute mat edged with wooden frames. One egg was laid in
each of the nests. The first egg was laid in the second week of
December and the other in the second week of January. The pairing
and courting had begun from September 2005. Both the sexes shared
equal responsibilities in nest building and incubation. Nesting
was however, not successful as one egg broke in the nest and the
other egg failed to hatch in spite of an extended incubation
period. This egg has been collected for processing.
Experience from
other breeding programmes shows that first attempts are often
unsuccessful, so the laying of two eggs should be seen as a
positive sign of better things to come.
8.
Vulture relief camp
Avulture
relief camp was organized in January 2006 to provide first aid
care and surgery, as necessary, to vultures injured in kite flying
during the celebration of “Uttrayan” festival in Ahmedabad,
Gujarat. The program was conducted in collaboration with Gujarat
Forest Department and Animal Health Foundation, Gyaspur, Gujarat.
During the
program, 9 injured White-backed vultures were successfully
anaesthetized and survived surgery and post-operative care.
Besides vultures, a number of Kites, a Peacock, a Painted stork,
an Egyptian vulture and a Pintail were also operated upon. Many
small birds with minor injuries recovered with first aid care. All
the nine vultures have now been brought to Pinjore and are part of
the breeding programme.
Mr. Pradeep
Khanna, IFS, the Chief Wildlife Warden of Gujarat thanked BNHS and
requested them to conduct this program every year. Mr. Khanna
very kindly gave us space to set up a temporary facility for
treating birds at the Van Chetana Kendra.
Sponsored by
Ministry of
Environment & Forests, Government of India and Haryana Forest
Department
