New Delhi: A restaurant opened for vultures living in the nearby caves located on the hills of Devgarh forest area in Uttar Pradesh’s Lalitput district has gone a long way in putting a stop to the deaths of the species, an Amar Ujaala report has said.
In the restaurant, vultures are getting a proper amount of meat which is served to the birds after their thorough medical examination. The count of the birds have also started increasing. At one point in time, there were only 60 to 70 vultures in the region. However, their population has now increased to 125. Among them there are also ‘king species’ of vultures, which are called Jatayu. There are 8-10 of these rare species. Wildlife officers and experts are excited over the increase in the numbers of the vultures.
As there was constant decline in the number of vultures in the district, Mahavir Swami Wildlife Sanctuary was built in 1977 on the banks of Betwa river in Devgarh. Till 1998, this area was under the Forest Department. It did not show any improvement in reviving the vultures’ population. The deaths of the birds continued.
What was the reason behind their deaths?
Following this, in 1998, this wildlife sanctuary was handed over to Taimur, Mirzapur. At that time, the number of vultures here was 60 to 70. A research was carried out on the decline in the number of vultures and increase in their mortality. It was revealed that the vultures were dying because they were feeding on the meat of such sick and ailing animals, which were given the drug diclofenac as a pain killer at the time of their illness. After finding out the reason behind the death of vultures, a comprehensive plan to check the deaths was prepared at the government level.
The first step was to monitor their food. Therefore, a restaurant was opened for the vultures. At the restaurant, meat was served to the vultures after a proper medical examination.
Special monitoring was started on female vultures, especially during the breeding season. Their food was specially tested. All this had a major impact and the untimely death of vultures was curbed. Currently, the number of vultures here has touched 125.
Why are vultures important?
The role of vultures in India’s ecosystems is significant. These birds play a huge part in managing disease by feeding on dead animals. This prevents the spread of diseases from other scavengers, such as feral dogs, which can carry rabies. As the vulture population has declined, many farmers dispose of dead livestock in waterways, which increases the spread of disease.
According to a recent study, the huge decline in vulture populations in India has caused an acute public health crisis, potentially leading to up to half a million premature deaths between 2000 and 2005. The annual economic impact of this health crisis has been put at nearly $70 billion.