SCIENCE REPORTER, SEPTEMBER 2014 12

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VULTURES have served human beings since time immortal. They

have been always there to provide uswith their free services. But humans have paid no attention to their noble involvement in keeping the environment clean. And now, when we have pushed the vultures to the brink of extinction, there are cries to save them.

Several projects have been unfolded over the past few years to conserve vultures, funded both by the Government as well as NGOs. Since the reasons for vulture decline vary from place to place, conservational measures too vary – while some places require reforestation, others

are setting up diclofenac-free zones, some places are trying to put a halt to anthropogenic disturbances such as shooting of movies in monuments with vulture colonies, and there are also efforts to set up rescue and rehabilitation centres.

Another important requirement is to provide safe and adequate food to these scavengers. And so an interesting concept of “Vulture Restaurants” is also taking shape. There is less food for vultures now than there was in earlier periods (less wildlife, change in cattle keeping pattern, etc.). Therefore, the use of supplementary feeding sites for vultures (also known as “vulture restaurants”) is being seen as a significant tool to provide ample, safe and consistent source of food for these master scavengers.

But, before that, let us look a little more deeply at the causes of vulture decline, especially in India.

Vultures on the DeclineThere is no single cause of vulture decline. The causes vary country wise as well as regionally. In many countries shooting, poisoning, low food availability and persecution resulted in depleting population of these scavengers. Carnivore poisoning continues to be common, especially in Europe and Africa to “protect” livestock from predators. Shooting vultures has long been documented in the United States, Europe, and North Africa, where the activity appears to be largely for sport.

During the last decade, the diclofenac theory gained wide acceptance as the main cause of the decline in India. Diclofenac is a widely used medicine for both humans and livestock. It belongs to the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory group of drugs (NSAIDS) that was banned in India in March 2006. When

Every year the fi rst Saturday in September is celebrated as the International Vulture Awareness Day. While several efforts are being made to bring back vultures from the brink of extinction, much more still needs to be done. Vulture Restaurants being set up to provide safe and adequate food for these scavengers are an interesting concept.

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Every year the fi rst Saturday in September is celebrated as the International Vulture Awareness Day. While several efforts are being made to bring back vultures from the brink of extinction, much more still needs to be done. Vulture Restaurants being set up to provide safe and adequate food for these scavengers are an interesting concept.

SCIENCE REPORTER, SEPTEMBER 201413

Pradesh, especially in the districts of Bundelkhand, the forest area is only 7.75% now. Similarly, in districts of Madhya Pradesh, the forest cover is 26.2%, which was around 40% in the 1950s.

The inter-ministerial central team reported that 64% forest in Uttar Pradesh and more than 50% in Madhya Pradesh are degraded. Bundelkhand, devoid of forest cover, looks like a barren land with naked mounds of hills. Logging

and mining are two major reasons for deforestation. Mahoba’s Kabrai is the epicentre of these stone mining activities. The area was inhabited with vulture populations and was dotted with densely forested hills but now is left with just barren and badly bruised mounds.

Jodhpur is a hilly area and mining is an alternate income source for the people there. Due to the increase in human population, mining works penetrate

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AMITA KANAUJIA AND SONIKA KUSHWAHAAMITA KANAUJIA AND SONIKA KUSHWAHAA K S K

vultures feed on diclofenac-fed carcass of livestock they develop abnormalities that are ultimately fatal.

Extra demands for land, food and other resources have also resulted in the degradation or destruction of vulture habitats. Vultures need cliffs, old monuments and large trees for nesting and roosting. The cliffs are destroyed due to mining; monuments are disturbed due to non-maintenance, tourism as well as shooting schedules during breeding seasons. Painting of historical temples and monuments has also led to the disturbance of nests that vultures had been using year after year.

Large trees have been lost due to continuous deforestation. Habitat destruction through devastation of feeding sites and cutting of trees used for nesting is also a major cause for the declining vulture population. In Uttar

Right: Film shooting (Hollywood movie Singularity) just 10 meters

from the nests of Long-billed vultures (Gyps indicus) in Orchha, Madhya Pradesh

Vulture restaurants or supplementary feeding sites are signifi cant for vultures since they enhance the gradually decreasing natural food availability.

SCIENCE REPORTER, SEPTEMBER 2014 14

the nesting sites on hill cliffs and cause adverse disturbances.

Lack of food because of modernization of primitive slaughterhouses and closing down of innumerable carcass dumps and feeding sites, especially in cities and towns as well as rural areas with civil and military airfields nearby, has also reduced the vulture populations. The poor farmers sell their old and sick cattle to slaughter houses. This practice of purchasing sick and infirm cattle for skin and meat by

slaughtering agents has created shortages of food for these carrion eaters.

Certain places in the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh have promising vulture populations with adequate food availability, water source and nesting space but rainfalls and storms result in very low reproductive success. On the other hand there are mortalities of fledglings in areas with high temperature due to dehydration and starvation, affecting the breeding success.

In protected areas, vultures died inadvertently feeding on lion, tiger and leopard cattle kills poisoned by villagers intentionally to kill the big cats that sometimes feed on their livestock and even fatally injure humans. To protect the big cats, the Forest Department now buries the dead animals in the protected areas to prevent the deliberate poisoning. This in turn has deprived these scavengers of the carnivore kills, thus adding to food scarcity.

In South India, vultures disappeared one and a half to two decades ago because certain communities in India such as Bandolu (Banda) in Guntur and Prakasam districts of Andhra Pradesh, Bapne near Mumbai and in villages near Sasan Gir and Vishwaneedan near Bangalore used to catch vultures to eat them as normal food or on festive days. During the cyclonic storm that struck coastal Andhra Pradesh in 1990 no vulture was available to dispose of numerous livestock killed by the storm in this area.

A new-virus hypothesis, probably a virus acquired from another species, or a new-disease factor, has also been

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Raja Ram Mandir with active vulture nests before painting at Orchha in Tikamgarh, Madhya Pradesh (above); and Raja Ram Mandir with no vulture

nests after painting (below)

Mining and blasting not only scarevultures but other birds too

Logging is one of the major causes of deforestation

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proposed to account for the deaths of vultures and of their population decline.

Most of the breeding sites of Indian White-backed vultures in Himachal Pradesh are reported around the roads. Therefore, human activity and motor interference is a cause of concern. Besides, monkeys are also reported as the source of interference in some vulture nesting colonies. Indian Langur (Semnopithecus entellus) may also pose threat to the breeding sites in monuments as well as protected areas.

In Jodhpur, electrocution and collision with power lines have also caused significant levels of vulture mortality. The main cause of death for the vultures in this region is electrocution. There are several cases of railway and road accidents when vultures feeding in flocks lose their lives. It is not possible for the vultures to feed on road kills due to the continuously running vehicles, which has shown enormous increase in recent years. For example, the railway tracks near Mohanpur Dhala Railway crossing, Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh turned out to be killer tracks on 17 February 2010 killing 30 vultures feeding on a single carcass of dog lying on the tracks.

In Rajasthan there are cases of nest destruction as well as cutting of trees occupied by vultures due to superstitions. The people of Bundelkhand region use vulture eyes to locate hidden treasures. This belief is associated with the keen eyesight of vultures. They even use vulture eggs for black magic so as to bring back the dead to life. The contemplation is that the parent vultures will bring some supernatural plants so as to make the dead egg live.

One nesting tree was cut in Kokrajhar district of Assam, as the people thought that presence of a vulture nest was the reason for death of a person. In Myanmar vultures are regarded as “disgusting birds” associated with death and decay. In some parts of Myanmar vultures are caught and killed for no obvious reason

but only for ‘fun’. In Southern Africa, vultures are a major part of the traditional medicine trade. Vultures’ body parts are utilized for many ailments such as headaches, but are preferred for effectiveness in providing clairvoyant powers, increased intelligence, and foresight. Cook and Mundy in 1980 attributed the sale of the vulture parts to superstitious beliefs.

Aviation authorities have also killed vultures. For nearly two decades attempts were made to eliminate vulture populations for the dangerous hazard they pose to aviation. Airport bird controllers do not want to be held responsible for bird-hit caused aircraft accidents. Killing birds by shooting has been and is a practice at civil and military aerodromes the world over. This is a short sighted solution because extinction or total wipe-out of these crucial scavengers is possible through sustained persecution over a period of time.

Vultures are slow breeders, they lay a single egg in one breeding period. Moreover they attain sexual maturity at the age of five years. They exhibit excellent parental care for about 8-9 months. So the loss of a single egg or fledgling contributes to their struggle for survival. The slow and gradual disturbances have proved fatal to the masters of the sky.

It’s high time to become conscious and categorize the causes of decline locally

and accordingly initiate conservation measures. With regular surveys, monitoring of breeding, roosting and feeding sites vultures can be protected in their natural abodes with the involvement of forest departments and local people. We do not have any other scavenger to fill the “ecological vacuum” caused by vulture decline.

Vultures in IndiaThere are 22 kinds of vultures which includes 15 types of Old World vultures found in Europe, Asia and Africa and seven types of New World vultures found in America. There are nine species of vultures found in India: King vulture (Sarcogyps calvus), Cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus), Griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), Himalayan Griffon vulture (Gyps himalayensis), Long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus), Slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris), White-backed vulture (Gyps bengalensis), Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), and Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus).

According to Galushin, thirty years ago raptor populations in Northern-Central India as a whole and within Delhi in particular appeared to be the highest in any urban area, worldwide. The diminishing of vulture population was first reported in the Southern states of India such as Kerala in the 1960s followed

Dehydrated fl edgling Neck dropping

Parent vulture with chick (left) and juvenile (right)

There is no single cause of vulture decline. The causes vary country wise as well as regionally. Several projects have been unfolded over the past few years to conserve vultures, funded both by the Government as well as NGOs.

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PRESENT STATUS OF NINE SPECIES OF VULTURES FOUND IN INDIA

NAME DESCRIPTION PHOTO DISTRIBUTION CURRENT STATUS

Gypaetus 125 cm, huge, grey and orange raptor Common breeding resident in high Least concernbarbatus with long wedge-shaped tail. northern mountains. Also occurs in (Lammergeier or S. Europe, Africa and West, Central & Bearded vulture) East Asia.

Neophron 65 cm, medium sized, dirty-white Fairly common breeding resident Endangeredpercnopterus raptor with a wedge-shaped tail. throughout region. Also occurs in (Egyptian vulture) Southern Europe, Africa and West, Central & East Asia.

Gyps bengalensis 85 cm, dark, broad-winged raptor with Globally threatened. Most frequent in Critically(Oriental White- large white back patch. Tail is short. Northern wildlife sanctuaries and now endangeredbacked vulture) very scarce in towns.

Gyps indicus 90 cm, large, pale brown raptor with Globally threatened. Most frequent in Critically(Indian vulture or dark fl ight feathers and short tail. large wild life sanctuaries. endangeredlong-billed)

Gyps tenuirostris 80-95 cm, thin, rather attenuated Globally threatened. Restricted to Critically(Slender-billed vulture, adults have dark bill with pale Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, West endangeredvulture) feathering on the black head and neck. Bengal, Northern Orissa.

Gyps himalayensis 125 cm, pale raptor with tail short. Common breeding resident of high Least concern(Himalayan griffon) Flight feathers are black. mountains. Also occurs in Central Asia.

Gyps fulvus 100 cm, huge, rufous-brown, white Common breeding resident of western Least concern(Eurasian griffon) head and neck, dark fl ight feathers Pakistan & northern India & Nepal. and tail. Also occurs in Southern Europe, Africa and West, Central & East Asia.

Sarogyps calvus 85 cm, large, blackish raptor with red Scarce but widespread breeding Critically(Red-headed vulture head and neck. resident throughout the lowlands. endangeredor King vulture)

Aegypius 115 cm, huge, chocolate brown raptor Mainly scarce winter visitor to northern Uncommon,monachus with a blackish face mark. Short, mountains and river valleys. near (Cinereous vulture) often wedge-shaped tail. threatened

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COVER STORYby Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in 1981. A large population of vultures had disappeared by 1987, except for a very few birds observed in the late 1990s and in 2001. At present, the Egyptian vulture is the commonest vulture in India, although it has scattered distribution.

Vultures are confined to the protected areas in most places now where they get the nesting space, food and a probable water source as well. The undisturbed rural places also have a few breeding pairs occupying the cliffs or large nesting trees. The gradual increase in the number of vulture population is due to unremitting identification of nesting and roosting sites of vultures in the wild. The awareness and concern among the Forest Departments, conservationists as well as local people have led to regular vulture surveys and monitoring programmes. Further involvement of local people as well as the awareness will aid in exploring more vulture sites.

Vulture RestaurantsAvailability of nesting sites and food availability are important factors for the survival of any species. There have been disturbances in the food sources of vultures since the past few decades. For example, in the Bundelkhand region farmers have faced drought since the past decade and are therefore forced to reduce the number of cattle. Hence, the availability of food for vultures has also reduced substantially.

The cattle keeping pattern and the disposal of dead cattle are also responsible

for food shortage. The dead cattle which were earlier left for the vultures to feed are now buried. Vultures depend on carnivore kills in the forest areas and on cattle flesh in unprotected areas for food. The deterioration of both has led to scarcity of food for them.

Feeding sites have also been destroyed due to urbanization and drying up of small water bodies. For instance, the feeding sites of vultures in Gwalior have been used up for construction of apartments and institutes. Moreover the carcasses available are unsafe due to deliberate poisoning by villagers to kill carnivores causing threat to their cattle or they may contain harmful contaminants such as diclofenac which is considered to be a major cause of vulture decline.

Vulture restaurants are a solution to this problem when run following the standards required. A vulture restaurant supplements the bird’s natural food supplies in an undisturbed area with safe meat and offal. Bones can be chipped to ensure calcium and mineral availability. Dead cattle are placed at a designated dining place where vultures then come to feed. A hide is ideally placed to observe the vultures while they feed without disturbing them. These restaurants generally attract most species of vultures.

Some dumping sites act as natural vulture restaurants for vultures, for example, the dumping site in Jorbeer, 15 km from Bikaner in Rajasthan, which serves as a food reservoir for migratory as well as residential vultures. It serves more than three thousand vultures every winter.

The vulture feeding stations need some precautionary measures for their successful running. The site should be selected at an appropriate distance from human habitation. It is essential that the area chosen for the feeding site is open, affording the vultures good visibility so that they can observe other scavengers and locate the food from a distance.

Old carcasses and hides need to be removed as often as possible and at least once every two months. The cattle should be free of any poisoning such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (used to treat a variety of cattle ailments). The site should be fenced so as to avoid feral dogs that do not allow the timid and shy

scavengers to feed.There should be arrangement for

perching near the vulture restaurant – it could be large trees or rocks. The vultures are clean and hygienic birds. They take a bath after every meal to wash off the contaminants that may stick to their body from the carcass while feeding. So, if possible, the site should be selected near a water body be it a pond, dam, or river.

The history of the cattle should be maintained. It is important to keep records of the numbers, types of animals, causes of death and dates of carcass provision. The sources and contact details of persons providing carcasses should be noted and the numbers of vultures of each species that are observed, together with the dates of the observations and the names of the observers should be recorded.

Vulture restaurants or supplementary feeding sites are significant for vultures since they: • Enhance the gradually decreasing natural food availability.• Provide carcasses free of poisons, agro-chemicals and harmful veterinary drugs; provide risk-free sites for vultures to feed.

Indian Langur (Semnopithecus entellus) around the vulture nesting sites

A train accident in Maharajganj killed 30 vultures (Right)

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• Enhance the breeding success by supplying additional food nutrition, such as fat, minerals and bone fragments (for calcium).• Increase the survival rate of fledglings, especially within their first year of leaving the nest.• Can be used to exert a pull on vultures back to areas earlier inhabited by them.• Aid with the stipulation of a secure source of food during the re-introduction of vultures to certain areas.

Vulture restaurants do not just benefit the vultures. There are several spinoff benefits too, such as: • Provide the most economical and practical way of disposing off dead stock.• Prevent spread of fly-borne diseases through the rapid consumption of carcasses.• From the cattle, the community can sell hide to the leather industry and bones and manure to the fertiliser industry. • Provide an additional source of income, from eco-tourism and photography. Tourists are given fascinating observation and photographic opportunities. They can also enjoy the aerial acrobatics performed by the vultures as they circle the area. • Monitoring, recording of ringed and tagged birds and other scientific studies are facilitated at vulture restaurants.

Existing Vulture RestaurantsToday, vulture restaurants are on the go all over the world, as worldwide a number of anthropogenic activities and environmental changes have led to steep population declines of these magnificent and valuable foragers. The rise in population of the Egyptian vulture in Provence (southern France) was essentially the result of the creation of artificial feeding sites in the Luberon massif. Since 1985, and after the population decrease of more than 75%, the presence of artificial feeding points allowed the population to increase, whereas it kept declining in the overall neighbouring areas.

In Namibia, the first vulture restaurant was established in 1987 in the Waterberg Plateau Park. South Africa developed feeding stations for the Bearded vulture in 1966 and for Cape Vultures from 1978. Nepal’s first feeding site lies within Pithouli and Kawasoti in Nawalparasi district, and is adjacent to the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park. At present Nawalparasi, Nepal is a huge success. Many of Nepal’s Vulture Restaurants are called Jatayu Restaurants, after the vulture god, Jatayu, from the Hindu religion.

In India, the Surat Nature Club in 2009 started a “Vulture Feeding Site” in Hazira, Gujarat. The ‘vulture restaurant’ project started in 2012 in Phansad wildlife sanctuary near Murud, in Raigad district of Maharashtra in association with the NGO Srushtidnyan. The wildlife wing of the forest department plans to set up more vulture restaurants in Thane, Nagpur, Nashik, Raigad and Gadchiroli districts. Dr Ajay Poharkar, raptor scientist and secretary of the National Association for Welfare of Animals and Research, is already running a vulture restaurant in Nimgaon, Dhanora tehsil in Gadchiroli. There are about three such restaurants existing in Punjab.

The first Vulture Restaurant in Uttar Pradesh started in 2013 in Deogarh, Lalitpur by the combined efforts of the authors based in Lucknow University and the Forest Department of Uttar Pradesh.

Although the concept is not new to India now, it is still not implemented as required. It is a much better method to conserve vultures and is both ecologically and economically sound and promotes in-situ conservation to ensure that the vultures will continue to fly free through the skies, as they have always done.

Dr. Amita Kanaujia is an Associate Professor (kanaujia.amita@gmail.com) in Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow-226007, UP. She is working in Biodiversity and Wildlife Conservation. Ms Sonika Kushwaha is Research Scholar (sonika.jhs@gmail.com) in Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow, working on vultures in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Natural vulture restaurant: a dumping site in Jorbeer, 15 km from Bikaner in Rajasthan

Dogs do not allow the timid and shy scavengers to feed

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Vulture restaurants do not just benefi t the vultures. There are several spinoff benefi ts too: provide the most economical and practical way of disposing off dead stock. Hide can be sold to

leather industry, bones and manure to fertiliser industry. f

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