Adilabad: Hopes float as vulture conservationists start GSM tagging scavenger birds

Adilabad: Vulture conservationists in India are set to have a unique 'peek' into the life of captive-bred white-rumped vultures (Gyps bengalensis) as part of their latest efforts to conserve scavenger birds.

Ten of these carrion-feeding aves have been successfully tagged with GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) based tracking devices at the famous Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Chandrapur district in Maharashtra. This initiative will help in monitoring their movement and behavior as 'free birds'.

“The white-rumped vultures, which fall into the category of critically endangered birds, were brought from the Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centre, Pinjore, Haryana, to the specially constructed pre-release aviary at Botezari of Kolsa range of TATR in January this year. They subsequently underwent tagging under the supervision of experts from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) besides top Forest department officials of Maharashtra State and those of TATR.

"The tagged vultures will be released from the aviary in a couple of days depending on health. We are waiting for their blood reports," revealed Jitendra Ramgaonkar, TATR field director among the key officials involved in this vulture conservation initiative.

The TATR was chosen for the monitoring program in question owing to the availability of adequate food for the vultures. Tigers invariably leave good portions of their kill and such leftovers become food for vultures, according to wildlife experts.

"The area is also part of a vast landscape which needs to be marked as a vulture landscape. Different species of vultures have been recorded in this landscape since the last decade or two," pointed out M. Ravikanth, a former field biologist with the Vulture Conservation Programme at the picturesque Palarapu long-billed vulture habitat in Penchikalpet forest area in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district.

The TATR and the Palarapu habitat are an estimated 100 km away as the bird flies. Also figuring in the landscape are the vulture habitats at Kamalapur, Venkatapur, and Lakkamedalu in Gadchiroli where long-billed vultures ane white-rumped vultures can be seen, among other types.

"GSM tagging of birds helps in determining their life span by tracking them through radio signals emitting from the tag. Researchers will be able to know of the birds' territory, their location, the time that the birds are in the air, in short, almost all that happens with them post their release," Ravikanth explained.

According to conservationists, the monitoring of GSM-tagged scavenger birds in the area adds a new dimension to their efforts but it will remain a study of birds bred in captivity. They underscore the need to carve out the vulture landscape on either side of the interstate border to further enhance the scope of research.