The scavenger bird vulture is now on the verge of extinction. The bird was found in large numbers in Odisha 50 years back. In every village the bird was seen and within no time a dead body was dumped, whether of human beings or animals, vultures ate it up, thus cleaning the environment. This bird never preys on any animal or bird for its food and also does not come down to kill the ground birds.
In India we generally meet three types of vultures and in Odisha we see two types of vultures. The first one is black or king vulture. This species is virtually extinct now -a-days. It is generally noticed throughout India, in the Himalayas, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Burma. It is not noticed in Sri lanka. Its nesting period is from December to April. It lays its eggs on large trees, which are generally 30 to 40 feet high. Commonly the palm tree is chosen by this bird for forming its nest.
Now this bird is getting extinct because of loss of habitat and food. When the village surroundings are spoiled and poisoned and large top trees are absent, this bird has become insecure and hence, its population is drastically reduced.
The second one is white backed or Bengal vulture which is known in Hindu as Gidha and in Odisha as Saguna. This species was also found aplenty in past. The bird looks dirty and blackish brown and also is heavily bodied. A long billed vulture looks similar to the Bengal vulture except without the white back.
Their gregarious flight in the sky always indicates there is some carcass somewhere on the ground what the vultures have located. Their gliding in the sky is most graceful. Their nesting period is from October to March. They generally form their nest on huge canopy trees, such as the banyan.
The third one is white scavenger vulture. This is also popularly known as pariah kite. The bird is found all over the Indian union except Assam. But it is also not found in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri lanka. The bird is sometimes found associated with crows and dogs to feed on dead bodies.
Now the growing loss of the vulture population has become a cause of concern. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and the cleaning programme of river Ganga would create further problem for the survival of these birds.
In the Super Cyclone of 1999, a large number of tall and bulky trees were uprooted in the Odisha coast as well as in the interior parts of the State. As a result, the vulture population began to dwindle. Sometimes these birds were seen taking shelter on the peak of temples in absence of tall trees.
Over and above, a major cause of the extinction of the vulture population in the State is indiscriminate use of different insecticides and chemical fertilizers in farm land and use of forced lactation process for yielding more and better lactose milk through application of chemical foods to cows. Even the dairy farmers are applying chemical injections to cows for yielding better milk in quantity and quality.
Besides, various chemically based fodders are also given to the cows for better yield. Now, when the vultures eat the carcass of these domestic animals whose flesh is already poisoned, they perish.
When the mother earth is poisoned, the plant kingdom is also poisoned and thereby the herbivores get killed. Similarly the aquatic animals are also poisoned through application of various kinds of chemical based food in fishing, prawn and shrimp cultures. Another setback is infertility of these birds which is caused due to consumption of contaminated food.
The vultures of the Himalayan region feed on eggs of other birds and lizards in absence of carcass of animals and birds. The felling of palm trees is also another threat to the existence of the vultures. These trees are cut on a commercial way in West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
In view of the ecological importance of the vultures, the State Government should undertake special programmes for the safety of the birds. The birds should be declared as protected and all sorts of measures need to be taken to ensure that they get suitable habitat and food. Regrettably, so far no census has been done on these birds. These apart, plantation of palm trees should be carried out extensively in rural and urban areas for hosting vultures and Baya weaver birds.
(The writer is a former senior forest officer and an environmentalist. Tel no 9937460649)