Umaria: Vulture census started at Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve from Monday. The census will conducted for three days till February 19.
The vultures in the tiger reserve will be counted in 139 beats under nine zones, said deputy director of the reserve PK Verma. He said officials and staff have been imparted special training for counting the vultures and their different species. The census team will fill in the details of vultures counted in their respective areas and the information will be sent to the range office, then the division office and finally to the Wildlife headquarters at Bhopal, he said. The data will also be uploaded on an app The initiative is meant to save vultures which are on the verge of extinction in the country.
Vultures are mostly found Tala area of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. Verma said counting the birds is not an easy task. The survey teams conduct the exercise at sunrise when the scavengers come out in the open to bask in the sun. The teams use binoculars and cameras to take pictures of the birds which are then identified and counted. The exercise has to be completed before the vultures fly out of their habitats in search of food.
Around 23 species of vultures are found across the globe. In India alone, a total of nine species of vultures are found. Out of these, seven can be seen in Madhya Pradesh including the Long-billed Vulture also called Desi Vulture. This apart, White-backed/Rumped Vulture also known as Chamar Vulture and the King Vulture are found in the state. This apart, the Egyptian Vulture also known as White Vulture, the Himalayan Griffon known as Himalayan Vulture, the Eurasian Griffon known as Eurasian Vulture, the Sled-billed Vulture known as Thin-beaked Vulture and Lamgyar/Serena Dead Vulture also known as the Jatayu are found in India.
Vultures play an important role in our ecosystem. It is believed that the digestive system of vultures is quite strong due to which they can easily digest pathogenic bacteria and fungi growing in dead bodies. Along with this, they also destroy the germs that cause epidemics like anthrax, foot and mouth disease and rabies.
