A flock of threatened vulture species — Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis) — has been spotted at Kalatop Khajjiar Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh by a team of researchers.
A team of Indian Bird Conservation Network (IBCN), a branch of the Bombay Natural History Society conducted a two-day bird survey at the Kalatop Khajjiar Wildlife Sanctuary to record the status of present bird diversity in the forest area.
“A flock of threatened vulture species — Himalayan Griffon — was spotted at the Kalatop Khajjiar Wildlife Sanctuary which indicates a healthy and rich biodiversity of this area. Around eight Himalayan Griffon were sighted,” said TK Roy, a member of IBCN and the coordinator of Asia Waterbird Census (AWC) while talking to The Pioneer.
The vulture species have been categorised on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red list and are protected under Schedule-1 of the Wildlife Protection Act.
According to the IUCN Red list, Himalayan Vulture (Gyps himalayensis) is notified as near threatened species.
The ecologist Roy said, “The Himalayan Griffon inhabits in the Himalayas and during winter, locally migrates from south to north Indian foothills and plains.”
Kalatop Khajjiar Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamba district notified in the year 1949 having rich biodiversity is very popular eco-tourism destination in Himachal and was also declared one of the 466 IBA Sites in India (Important Bird Area – world bird conservation project of the Birdlife International, USA) with special focus to threatened bird species.
Roy said, “After 10 years, all the IBA sites are being re-surveyed
to record present bird and
biodiversity status.”
According to the Ornithologists, the population of vultures is slowly stabilising in the hilly State of Himachal Pradesh. In the past few months, different species of vultures, considered to be on the verge of extinction in India have been spotted in Himachal.
Earlier in June, a large flock of about 100 vultures including two critically endangered (CE) species—White-Rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) and Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus)—were sighted at the Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary.
Roy said, “The vulture restaurant concept, which is partially initiated at Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary by Hamirpur Wildlife Division of Himachal has attracted good numbers of species namely White-rumped Vulture, Egyptian Vulture and Griffon Vulture.”
Vulture restaurant, a concept for conservation and increasing vulture population in the wild by providing safe food (carcass) to vultures has helped in stabilizing the population of vultures in this region. During field surveys in Himachal this year, flocks of critically endangered species—White-Rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis), endangered species—Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) among others have been spotted in Himachal, he added.
Notably, the population of critically endangered — White-Rumped Vulture had seen 99 per cent decline since mid 1990s in the Indian sub-continent due to feeding on carcass of animals, treated with veterinary drug Diclofenac. This drug leads to renal failure and cause visceral gout in vultures.
The vulture, known as king scavengers plays a key role in the environment as ecosystem service provider as it feeds on carrion and keeps the natural environment clean and controls spreading viral diseases from decaying carrions.