BENGAL HOME FOR WHITE BACKED VULTURES

[Guest guest]

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=22 & theme= & usrsess=1 & id=98862

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*Winged friends find new home*

 

Biswabrata Goswami

in Krishnagar

Dec. 9. — At a time when three species of the Asian Gyps vulture face global

extinction, a large nesting site of White-rumped Vulture Gyps (scientific

name: Bengaensis), one of the three species, has been spotted in the

Banguria forest near Bethuadahari Wildlife Sanctuary in West Bengal.

Though, the state forest officials are not quite sure whether it is the

largest nesting site of this critically endangered species in the state it

could be one of the large nesting site so far spotted during the ongoing

vulture-census in the state.

Infact a large flock of such birds has found a safe haven here for the past

five years when all habitats in the nearby places of Bethuadahari and other

parts of Nadia district have been reportedly lost.

The carrion-eating birds, who were once a common sight in West Bengal, have

indeed made a self-styled effort to be re-colonised.

A trip to the Banguria forest with Dr Arpan Mukherjee, secretary of Enact,

an NGO which fights for the cause of protecting the environment, has

revealed that the population of these white-rumped vultures is supposed to

be increased to 35 from 12 during the past five years.

However, the locals claimed that they have scoured the skies and counted 55

vultures hovering often in the skies of Banguria. Even, the Banguria forest

staff Mr Rabindranath Ghosh has echoed the same with the locals.

During the visit, 11 nests on a cliff or sishu trees particularly, were also

spotted. In most of the nests, the vultures were seen incubating their eggs.

The vultures here have preferred particularly sishu trees among other trees

as the ideal shelter for making their nests.

The reason behind choosing the Banguria forest as a real habitat by the

vultures is also not clear since there are no permanent dumping sites within

a radius of 30 kilometres.

The chief conservator of forest Mr Atanu Raha when asked about the matter

said: " Presently, a vulture census in South Bengal is on. We are now

collecting data from different places. It is too early to comment on whether

the Banguria site is the largest nesting site. But, it is good news to all

that vultures have been re-colonised there and we will have to protect them.

Barring this site, vultures were spotted at Santipur and at a place, which

is on the outskirts of Krishnagar town. But, these sites are not the nesting

sites. In Kolkata, a large flock of vultures have also been spotted in the

Rajarhat area " .

Mr Kushal Mukherjee, a member of the National Board for Wildlife said: " The

species are already locally extinct across the state along with other parts

of India. Whatever data the forest department collects, it would be very

little. I, personally visited the Banguria forest recently and have recorded

the data " .

The dramatic decline in three species of vultures came to notice about a

decade ago when researchers saw a flock of vultures falling down from a tree

in a bird sanctuary in northern India.

The livestock painkiller diclofenac, consumed by vultures when they eat a

carcass, has been blamed for the sharp decline of the vulture population.

Dr Mukherjee said, " Vultures hold a critical position in the food chain and

are renowned for their ceaseless scavenging. In a bid to save the birds from

extinction, the decision to ban diclofenac was taken, but it will take more

time until the drug is phased out from the food chain.

In the 1980s, the white-backed vulture was thought to be the most abundant

large bird of prey in the world, but in little over a decade, the population

has crushed by about 98%. As a result, the species was classified as

critically endangered in 2000, along with the closely related Slender-billed

Gyps tenuirostris and Indian Vultures Gyps indicus " .