Vulture count likely to go up as 506 new nests spotted in Kangra

As many as 506 new nests of vultures having about 2,500 eggs have been spotted in various parts of Kangra, giving an impetus to efforts to enhance their dwindling population. Efforts had earlier been made in Kangra to provide natural habitats to these birds.

The wildlife wing of the Forest Department had in a recent survey noticed an appreciable increase in the number of vulture nests, indicating that their population was growing. “We have spotted 506 new nests of vultures having about 2,500 eggs, which is a good news indicating that the efforts of the department are yielding desired results,” says Reginald Royston, Divisional Forest Office (DFO), Wildlife.

Around two decades ago, the Forest Department had started a project to protect the nesting and roosting sites of vultures at Parol, Salol, Chadevh, Daulatpur and Mastgarh in Kangra district to increase their number. Vultures prefer the area that has mother pine trees, which they use for setting up nests. The wildlife wing of the department had planned to extend these efforts to other nine districts of the state, barring Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti, but no headway has been made in this regard.

Efforts initiated two decades ago

• The efforts to enhance the population of vultures in Himachal were launched in 2004 when their count had decreased to around 30, with scarce sighting.
• Around two decades ago, the Forest Department had started a project to protect the nesting and roosting sites of vultures at Parol, Salol, Chadevh, Daulatpur and Mastgarh in Kangra district to increase their number.
• The encouraging results are also an outcome of a complete ban imposed in 2012 on the use of anti-inflammatory veterinary drug 'diclofenac' to treat animals.

The efforts to enhance the population of vultures in Himachal were launched in 2004 when their count had decreased to around 30, with scarce sighting. Vultures fall in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of critically-endangered species. Vultures were also spotted in the Nalagarh area of Solan district and Paonta Sahib in Sirmaur district, prompting the department to extend its efforts across the state.

The encouraging results are also an outcome of a complete ban imposed in 2012 on the use of anti-inflammatory veterinary drug ‘diclofenac’ to treat animals. The use of this medicine to treat animals has been adversely impacting the population of vultures, which feed on carcasses. As such, the number of vultures, considered natural scavengers, has gradually dwindled.

Feeding stations were set up for vultures around the Pong Dam in Kangra where the carcasses of dead animals from nearby areas were kept for feeding them. The Forest Department undertakes an annual count of nests and fledglings of vultures to assess the results of its efforts to ensure an increase in their population.

Haryana has undertaken in-situ breeding and conservation of vultures at Pinjore but Himachal has adopted a different strategy of providing natural habitats to them in protected areas to safeguard their nesting and roosting sites.