BNHS trains staff ahead of vultures release in MTR

Ahead of the release of vultures in Maharashtra’s Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR), the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has conducted a workshop to sensitise forest staff and other personnel on bird conservation and post-release management.

As part of the reintroduction programme, 15 long-billed vultures were brought from Pinjore in Haryana in April 2025 and housed in a pre-release facility in Melghat (in Amravati district).

The birds have undergone training over the past eight months to feed independently and acclimatise to local environmental conditions and are expected to be released in the reserve soon, a BNHS release said.

A workshop, titled ‘Bringing Back the Apex Scavenger’, was organised jointly by BNHS and the state forest department on December 12 at Shahanur in Akot wildlife division of Akola district to sensitise veterinarians, forest staff and field personnel about vulture conservation and post-release management, it said.

Nearly 30 participants, including animal husbandry practitioners from Amravati and Buldhana districts, wildlife veterinarians and field biologists from MTR, attended the workshop.

The sessions covered topics such as vulture conservation, husbandry care, reintroduction protocols, rescue and rehabilitation, the release said.

BNHS conservation biologists highlighted the ecological importance of vultures, species identification and their cultural significance. They also spoke on the decline of vultures, historical evidence of their presence in the Satpuda hills and ongoing vulture safe zone activities in the Melghat landscape.

Participants were also taken to the pre-release aviary at Somthana, where demonstrations were held on safe handling, rescue and monitoring of vultures. The use of CCTV cameras for remote monitoring and enclosure maintenance was also explained, the release added.