3 ‘vulture restaurants’ set up to feed the rare birds

India,Nepal,Bangladesh and Pakistan had been home to vultures that feed on carcasses. But of late,the bird had been vanishing from the skies here,with scientists blaming the increasing use of Diclofenace,a pain-killer given to animals,for this. The birds eat carcasses and the chemical enters their body,causing liver and kidney failures,leading to a slow and painful death.

“The picture was dismal. We recorded that there were only 60-odd birds left in Punjab. But during routine activities by our field staff and some wildlife lovers,it was found that flocks of birds,numbering above 500-600,are not only moving in the skies here but were even nesting,” said Wildlife Ranger Ramesh Chander. He said they prepared a report and had finally set up vulture restaurants at three strategic places — Kathlore,Chandola and Chamraur — to provide regular feed to the birds.

The aim of these restaurants is to provide Diclofenace-free carcasses to the birds. Chander said: “We buy the carcasses — of anything from dead buffaloes,cows and bulls to other animals — from villagers and place them on bricked platforms with boundary walls at these ‘restaurants’,” said Kumar,adding that this would provide the birds a safe place to feed,nest and breed.”

Officials said they had to make sure the supply of carcasses was continuous. Till now,they have supplied more than 60 carcasses to the birds at these three places,costing them over Rs 70,000.

“The vulture takes bath after feeding upon the carcass and thus needs a water body. Here the fresh water in abundantly available (with Ravi river flowing in the vicinity) and they nest in the peaceful vegetation area in the far-flung parts of the state,” said former wildlife warden Sukhdeep Singh Bajwa. He is among the first who discovered flocks of vultures in the area and sent reports to the wildlife department,seeking protection of the habitat and feeding places of these birds.

He rued that while three species of vultures — White-Rumped,Slender-Billed and Long-Billed,figuring in Schedule-1 of Wildlife Protection Act,1972 — were being bred in captivity at Pinjore in Haryana by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS),little efforts were being made to protect the birds in Punjab. “In 2004,I first discovered flocks of vultures — around 300-400 in number — in the Dhar area. More such flocks were sighted later in Narot Jaimal Singh area in 2006 and 2009,” he said,adding that other rarer varieties of vultures found in the area are Egyptian vulture and Himalayan Griffon.

“In Nepal,the vulture restaurants had been bringing positive results. In Pakistan,too,some restaurants were opened,though they were not very successful,” said Bajwa,adding that efforts were required to involve local communities,making them aware that birds were part of the ecological order or else rotting animals would spread diseases for humans.