Maharashtra: Pench Tiger Reserve launches vulture conservation programme

The Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Maharashtra's Nagpur on Saturday launched an initiative for the conservation of critically endangered vultures, under which villagers will dump carcasses of animals at designated places to ensure availability of food for the scavenger birds. The programme is titled 'Jatayu Gram Mitra', an official said.

"The Pench Tiger Reserve, in collaboration with Mumbai-based Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) is working towards the conservation and restoration of the critically endangered vulture species," PTR deputy director Prabhu Nath Shukla said in a release.

Ten long-billed vultures (Indian vultures) were brought from the Jatayu Conservation and Breeding Centre from Pinjore in Haryana, and placed in a pre-release aviary in East Pench in Pipariya in January this year, he said.

These vultures were kept in this aviary before they were released into their natural habitat in the PTR. Over the past few months, these vultures have been interacting with wild vultures outside the aviary, and based on these interactions, the PTR administration and BNHS decided to release them into the wild on 10 August.

The extinction of traditional carcass dumping sites due to cultural change has diminished the food available to vultures, he said, adding the PTR initiated the 'Jatayu Gram Mitra Programme' on this year's Vulture Conservation Day (celebrated on 7 September) to support their conservation. The programme will be held till next year's Vulture Day (on 6 September), he said.

As part of the programme, the tradition of dumping sites will be revived to protect vultures. As part of this initiative, specific dumping sites will be designated in bushy forest areas outside the village where dead animals can be dumped to ensure the availability of food for vultures, he said.

Livestock owners will be provided with financial assistance to cover the transportation costs and efforts associated with dumping of the animal carcasses, he said.

Only animals that have died due to old age or illness and have not received any medical treatment recently will be permitted to be dumped at the designated sites, Shukla said.