Released into the wild yr in the past, the Jatayu Conservation and Breeding Centre challenge brings some hope to conservationists
In October 2020, eight critically endangered Oriental white-backed vultures have been launched into the wild for the primary time in India from the Jatayu Conservation and Breeding Centre (JCBC) located on the Bir Shikargah Wildlife Sanctuary in Shivalik ranges of the Himalayan foothills in Haryana’s Pinjore. A yr later, they’ve blended properly into the untamed habitat exterior the aviary, providing hope to conservationists. But the grave threats to the survival of vultures are far from over.
“The Oriental white-backed vultures that were released in the wild are resident birds and not migratory, so they largely stay within a radius of 50-100 km of the breeding centre. All eight vultures were deployed with satellite tracking devices on their back, and orange-coloured wing tags on both wings, so we are able to monitor them. They have been bred in captivity so they will gradually adjust in the wild. They are flying well and have managed to locate water. Also, they have managed to join the wild flock with other vultures such as the Himalayan griffon, which is surely an encouraging sign. They are not taking sustained flights as other wild birds do, but they are gradually increasing their time of flying, which is again good. We need to wait for another one year. If they survive, then it will be an indication that the environment is safe, after which we will release other raptors as well,” Dr. Vibhu Prakash, Deputy Director and Principal Scientist on the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), who heads the JCBC, advised The Hindu.
As many as 378 vultures of three species are housed on the centre, of which 131 are Oriental white-backed vultures, 195 are Long-billed vultures, and 52 are Slender-billed vultures. The “founder stock” of birds on the centre was collected from numerous States, together with Assam, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, to keep up genetic range.
In 2016, the centre launched two Himalayan Griffon vultures, bred in captivity for 10 years, into the wild. “One of the birds could be monitored for 45 days, and within this period, it started flying strongly and could soar very high with other species of vultures. There was no tracking device on these birds, so they could not be followed beyond 45 days. This gave us confidence to carry out future releases,” mentioned Dr. Prakash.
Once quite common, vultures are on the verge of extinction in India. Uncontrolled veterinary utilization of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicine (NSAID), together with Aceclofenac, Ketoprofen and Nimesulide, and the unlawful use of the banned drug Diclofenac, are poisonous to vultures in the event that they feed on carcasses inside 72 hours of the medicine’ administration to such livestock.
The vulture inhabitants in India was estimated at 40 million as soon as. Populations of three species of vultures — the Oriental white-backed vulture, the Long-billed vulture and the Slender-billed vulture — have declined by over 97% for the reason that Nineties, and that of the Oriental white-backed vultures by a drastic 99.9%. It has been established that the vulture inhabitants was decimated by the veterinary utilization of Diclofenac in India.
“In 2006, the veterinary use of Diclofenac was banned. Later, in 2015, after the Government of India placed restrictions on the size of Diclofenac vials for human consumption to just 3 ml, the prevalence of Diclofenac in cattle carcasses was reduced to less than 2%, which is safe for vultures. But while the use of Diclofenac has gone down, its unlawful usage is still reported. Moreover, the continued use of vulture toxic drugs, including Aceclofenac, Ketoprofen and Nimesulide in livestock treatment, could pose a major impediment to the reintroduction programme,” mentioned Dr Prakash.
Aceclofenac is a “prodrug” of Diclofenac, which quickly metabolises into Diclofenac after it’s administered to livestock. Dr. Prakash mentioned the continued use of Aceclofenac provides to the provision of Diclofenac within the ecosystem. (*8*) he added.The different two medicine — Ketoprofen and Nimesulide — additionally have to be banned, Dr. Prakash mentioned.
Navjit Singh, secretary of the non-profit Avian Habitat and Wetland Society, mentioned the important thing motive behind the usage of Diclofenac is the truth that it’s a really low-cost drug. “Governments need to ensure that alternative drugs are subsidised to be cheaper than Diclofenac,” he mentioned.
The VCBC was established in 2001 to analyze the devastating declines in India’s Gyps species of vultures. It’s a collaborative initiative between the BNHS and the Haryana Forest and Wildlife Department, to save lots of the three resident Gyps species of vultures within the State — the Oriental white-backed vulture, the Long-billed vulture, and Slender-billed vulture — from looming extinction.
