Funds from the naming auction will be used for conservation.

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CHANDIGARH, MAY 9: As their numbers in the wild dwindle across India, a white-backed vulture chick, the second to be born in captivity at the vulture breeding centre in Pinjore near Chandigarh, caught the eye of the Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB) in faraway UK which organised a naming auction to eventually declare that the chick would be called Phoenix, named after the mythical bird that rises from its ashes.

At the auction last month, some 20,000 pounds was raised by the RSPB which plans to spend the money on vulture conservation and breeding projects. The Pinjore vulture centre is run by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and the Haryana government.

BNHS principal scientist Dr Vibhu Prasad told The Indian Express: “At the end of the bidding process, the two-month-old vulture chick was named Phoenix.” He said Karan Bilimoria, founder of British company Cobra Beer, and five others pushed for naming the chick Phoenix.

“The event generated 20,000 pounds which includes money generated from bidding and sale of food plates to guests,” Prasad said.

Haryana chief wildlife warden R D Jakati said the choice of Phoenix has symbolic significance given the dwindling vulture population, especially of the Oriental white-backed vulture. “The count has gone down 99.9 per cent since 1992. The name is well thought of. Phoenix is seen as a symbol that represents rebirth. It’s believed that the phoenix is reborn from its ashes,” Jakati said.

The other surviving vulture chick to be born in captivity at the Pinjore centre, has been named Vibhu after the scientist.

Jakati said information about the second vulture chick was delayed since the CCTV in the chamber had provided a hazy visual. “Phoenix was born to another pair of white-backed vultures which laid an egg last winter,” he said.