Vulture breeding cheers conservationists

In a positive development for environmentalists and bird conservationists, 22 couples of Dungar, a rare species of vulture, have been found raising their chicks in two community forests in the district. The scavengers have been taking care of their hatchlings in nests built in three Sal and 19 Asana trees at Lalmatiya and Pratibha community forests in Bandganga VDC. Long trees were reportedly chosen for the hatchlings can get enough sunlight and are less prone to threats. The news has come as a sigh of relief for all concerned about the dwindling number of vultures in the country. Vultures usually mate during the period between November and December and construct nests using twigs and dry leaves found in forests to raise the hatchlings. According to biologist Krishna Prasad Bhusal, associated with the Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN), the eggs are usually laid during the month of January and hatch by the first week of March. The hatchlings have already started crawling in their nests and have grown hair on their skins. Bhusal said they will be able to fly after three to four months. The BCN, in response to the development, has been taking necessary measures to ensure their survival by conducting various awareness programmes. The scavengers have been playing a vital role in keeping the environment clean and help prevent the spread of epidemics like cholera, rabies, plague, and anthrax by feeding on the carcass of dead animals. One vulture feeds on three kilograms of carcass every three days. “We had grown up with the belief that one would be impure if touched by a vulture but after learning about its importance we have ensured that the nests remain safe,” said chairman of Lalmatiya Community Forest, Uday Raj Chaudhary. Among the eight species of vultures found in Nepal, Dungar is the smallest, with more than 90 percent of them already extinct by the mid 90s. “The number of the these vultures has increased due to the initiative taken by conservationists and the awareness among general public,” said ornithologist Hem Sagar Baral. Baral said that the species which is listed under critically endangered species has reached 2,000, adding that with a combined effort the area could be turned into a tourist destination. At the initiative of conservationists, the government had banned the manufacture, distribution and use of diclofenac, a veterinary medicine said to be the main reason behind the decline in vulture population. source: ekantipur