Endangered long-billed vultures reintroduced at Pench Reserve in Maharashtra

Nagpur: The Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR), in partnership with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), has successfully reintroduced critically endangered long-billed vultures into their natural habitat, marking a significant milestone in wildlife conservation.

The reintroduction efforts began on January 21 when 10 long-billed vultures were brought from the Jatayu Conservation & Breeding Center in Pinjore in Haryana, said Pench Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra) deputy director Prabhu Nath Shukla in a statement on Sunday.

The vultures were housed in a pre-release aviary at the central Bodalzira beat of East Pench Piparia Range, where they have spent the past seven months acclimatizing and interacting with local wild vultures.

Wild and released vultures ate together

The crucial moment arrived on August 10 after months of careful preparation and observation when the long-billed vultures ventured out of the aviary and joined wild vultures in feasting on a chital carcass strategically placed outside the aviary, Shukla said.

Within a short time, all vultures, both released and wild, consumed the entire carcass, signalling the success of the reintroduction process, he said.

Each released vulture was fitted with PTT (GPS) tags, enabling the ongoing monitoring of their movements and integration into the wild. BNHS president Praveen Pardeshi, director Kishore Rithe, RFOs and forest staff were present.

Officials to keep track of vultures’ movements

Shukla said the PTR and BNHS will continue to track the movements of vultures through the GPS tags.

The project aims to provide valuable insights into the habitat, distribution, and conservation status of these majestic birds, reinforcing the commitment to preserving biodiversity, he added.

Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve

Meanwhile, the information from this latest effort and from previous efforts in vulture conservation will help scientists define or demarcate a 'vulture landscape’ that had existed in these parts. In July, a similar project was undertaken in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district.

As many as 10 GSM-tagged White Rumped Vultures (Gyps bengalensis), falling under the critically endangered category, were released in TATR. These birds were also captive-bred in the Pinjore conservation facility.

The Pench Tiger Reserve and the TATR are about 150 km apart, much of it being a forest area. The expanse is considered to be conducive for the existence of the scavenger birds.

How vast is the ‘vulture landscape’?

Also figuring in the eastern side of the ‘vulture landscape’ will be the habitats in Gadchiroli of the same State and Penchikalpet in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district of Telangana. These habitats, which boast of a healthy naturally occurring population of vultures, are located 100 km apart.

Kamalapur, Venkatapur and Lakkamedau habitats in Gadchiroli have long-billed (Gyps indicus) and White Rumped Vultures while the Pala Rapu cliff in Penchikalpet is home to the former only.

The Pala Rapu vultures have not visited the high cliff for roosting or breeding in the last couple of years. The reason, it is being assumed, is the damage suffered by the ledges on the high cliff during the rains from the previous years.

The Forest Department in Telangana is looking forward to the declaration of a large extent of the area surrounding the picturesque Pala Rapu as a Conservation Zone. This will enable the department to initiate a conservation programme for wildlife including the long-billed vultures here.

With inputs from PTI