Captive breeding of endangered species of vulture successful

Kolkata, July 24 (PTI) India has become the first
country in the world to successfully breed critically
endangered slender-billed vultures in captivity.

A chick born in February last year from one of the six
pairs of the rare species hosted in the vulture conservation
breeding centre at Rajabhatkhawa forest in eastern state West
Bengal's Jalpaiguri district is now healthy.

This is the first time that this species of vulture
has been bred in captivity anywhere in the world, according to
conservationists.

"We started off in 2005 with a mission to prevent
vultures from getting extinct. And now, with this hatching we
are encouraged to raise more slender-billed vultures, which
have been identified as critically-endangered worldwide,"
the breeding centre's manager, Sachin Ranade, told PTI.

The conservation programme, run by the Bombay Natural
History Society (BNHS) in collaboration with the forest
department of West Bengal, began in December, 2005 when a
slender-billed vulture was caught from Dholla in Tinsukia
district of Assam.

So far, 23 sub-adults and juvenile slender-billed
vultures have been caught and are being reared for
conservation breeding programmes at Pinjore (Haryana) and
Rajabhatkhawa.

According to estimates, less than 200 pairs of the
species now survive in the wild in India. The bird is endemic
to south and south-east Asia.

The Rajabhatkhawa centre houses a total of 80 vultures
which were brought from different parts of the country,
particularly from Assam. Besides the slender-billed variety,
there are 19 long-billed and 49 white-backed vultures in
captivity.

"We want to establish a founder population of 25 pairs
each of the three endangered vulture species. By rearing them
in captivity, their life is saved and once they start
breeding, they would augment their population," Ranade said.

Vultures, crucial for the ecology for their role as
scavengers, have been declining fast since the early 1990s. As
their population decrease by around 40 per cent per year,
these three critically endangered species are on the brink of
extinction in India, Pakistan and Nepal, he said.

Diclofenac drug is toxic for vultures. As they consume
carcasses of animals that were treated with the drug, they
also get intoxicated, the official said explaining the reason
behind their declining population. PTI NIK
AM
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