Why saving the vulture matters
1 year, 6 months ago

Why saving the vulture matters

Live Mint  

The latest State of India’s Birds report, released towards the end of August, revealed yet more alarming trends for vulture species in the country. Vultures have catastrophically declined in India since the 1990s – from a population of millions to now just tens of thousands -- with the Indian vulture crisis labelled by many conservationists as one of the most rapid and wide scale species decline ever seen in birds. But now citizen scientists and birding enthusiasts can help document the presence of vultures in various locations across India through WWF-India’s Annual Vulture Count, which begins later this week on 2 September, which also marks International Vulture Awareness Day. The Vulture Count involves training citizens to identify various vulture species and document the observations on the eBird platform in collaboration with Bird Count India. In the long-run, through the collected data, we will estimate vulture abundance across different locations," says Rinkita Gurav, manager, Raptor Conservation Programme, WWF-India.

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History of this topic

India’s Vulture Crisis: How Biodiversity Loss is Endangering Human Health
4 days ago

India’s Vulture Crisis: How Biodiversity Loss is Endangering Human Health

The Hindu  

Published : Mar 26, 2025 08:48 IST - 13 MINS READ On January 16, 2021, a large, blotchy, elliptical egg began to crack open at the Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centre in Pinjore, Haryana. “Critically endangered” species in India Indeed, India’s “critically endangered” wild species on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature include every animal …

Despite challenges, vulture population in south stable: Experts
3 weeks, 6 days ago

Despite challenges, vulture population in south stable: Experts

Hindustan Times  

Despite the widespread illegal use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to treat sick domestic animals by local farmers and veterinarians and smoke emanating from climate change-induced wildfires, the vulture population in southern part of India has nearly stabilised, according to early indications from a just-concluded synchronised survey of these winged scavengers. According to the researchers who took part in the census …

Wayanad survey reveals significant rise in vulture population
3 weeks, 6 days ago

Wayanad survey reveals significant rise in vulture population

The Hindu  

The 2025 synchronised vulture population estimation, the third of its kind in the South Indian landscape since 2023, has yielded promising results, particularly in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. Of the 18 camps established for the region-wide survey, vultures were sighted in 13, with all 12 camps within Wayanad recording their presence. The survey, aimed at assessing the health and distribution …

State’s second vulture breeding centre planned in Pune’s Bavdhan area
2 months, 1 week ago

State’s second vulture breeding centre planned in Pune’s Bavdhan area

Hindustan Times  

In efforts to conserve vulture species in Maharashtra, with almost all classified as threatened or endangered, the state forest department planned two vulture breeding centres — Pune and Nashik — in the state. Also, few migratory species like Egyptian Vulture is also sighted in some areas Work for the ₹15-crore Nashik centre project near Trimbakeshwar, started around two months back, …

Habitat loss, food scarcity key factors in decline of Long-billed Vulture: Study
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Habitat loss, food scarcity key factors in decline of Long-billed Vulture: Study

Hindustan Times  

Habitat loss, food scarcity, and the use of anti-inflammatory drugs are key factors responsible for the decline of the critically endangered Long-billed Vulture population, a new study has revealed. The study, led by Assistant Professor Ram Prakash Saran from the Department of Zoology, Jai Narain Vyas University, along with research scholars Ashok Kumar Panchal and Ramesh Choudhary, focused on the …

Vultural Nationalism
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Vultural Nationalism

Times of India  

Times of India’s Edit Page team comprises senior journalists with wide-ranging interests who debate and opine on the news and issues of the day. Why those big scavenging birds are crucial for India GOI’s decision to ban all formulations of the drug Nimesulide – widely used as animal painkiller – because of its toxicity to vultures is a familiar story. …

Global wildlife numbers declined 73% since 1970, says WWF
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Global wildlife numbers declined 73% since 1970, says WWF

The Hindu  

There has been a 73% decline in the average size of monitored wildlife populations from 1970-2020, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature’s Living Planet Report 2024, a biennial compilation of the threats faced to wildlife. The sharpest decline is reported in freshwater ecosystems at 85%, followed by terrestrial ecosystems at 69% and marine ecosystems at 56%.Habitat loss and …

Wings of hope: Can Ramanagara revive its vulture population?
6 months, 1 week ago

Wings of hope: Can Ramanagara revive its vulture population?

The Hindu  

The nature enthusiasts who gathered at the Ramadevarabetta vulture sanctuary on the morning of September 14 were one lucky batch. What awaited the group was a glorious view of the only pair of critically endangered long-billed vultures in the sanctuary, perched about 3,000 feet high on the crevice of a monolith that’s characteristic of Ramanagara. The Karnataka Forest Department and …

India’s first vulture breeding centre takes flight from Gorakhpur
6 months, 3 weeks ago

India’s first vulture breeding centre takes flight from Gorakhpur

Hindustan Times  

GORAKHPUR India’s first conservation and breeding centre for the Asian King Vultures was inaugurated in Bharivaisi, Campierganj Range of the Gorakhpur forest division by chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath during the inauguration of Jatayu Conservation and Breeding Centre, in Gorakhpur district. The centre in Gorakhpur set up at a cost of ₹2.80 crore includes breeding …

India’s southernmost vulture population stands at 320 individuals
1 year, 2 months ago

India’s southernmost vulture population stands at 320 individuals

The Hindu  

More than 300 vultures were recorded in the recently completed synchronous vulture survey in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve encompassing parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, according to data from the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. A total of 217 critically endangered white-rumped vultures, 47 long-billed vultures, 50 Asian king vultures, four endangered Egyptian vultures and two “near threatened” Himalayan griffon …

Birds living in open habitat seeing declining trend, large number of common species in trouble: report
1 year, 7 months ago

Birds living in open habitat seeing declining trend, large number of common species in trouble: report

The Hindu  

Among the 338 bird species studied in India, 60% have shown long-term decline. Out of 359 species evaluated for current annual trend, 40% have shown declined, find second edition of the State of Indian Birds report released on Friday. The bird assessment report, released for the second time after 2020, says generalist species like shy Prinia, Rock Pigeon, Asian Koel, …

Majority of bird species in India face decline: Report
1 year, 7 months ago

Majority of bird species in India face decline: Report

Hindustan Times  

There are now 178 bird species in India classified as “high conservation priority” meaning that their abundance continues to decline after a considerable drop in the number over the years, and the sharpest decline in numbers is among species found in so-called open ecosystems or habitats, which typically have no protection. India’s birds are facing a significant decline in numbers …

White-rumped vulture faces a perilous future in Nilgris’ Sigur plateau
1 year, 8 months ago

White-rumped vulture faces a perilous future in Nilgris’ Sigur plateau

The Hindu  

Despite the protective measures, the future remains extremely perilous for the critically endangered white-rumped vulture in the Sigur plateau in the Nilgiris, the last southernmost viable breeding population for the species in India. It was conducted by Samson Arockianathan for his doctoral thesis, ‘Studies on Population, Breeding Ecology and Conservation Threats of Critically Endangered White-rumped vulture in the Mudumalai Tiger …

Missing Critically Endangered White-rumped Vulture from Nepal Found in Bihar
2 years, 4 months ago

Missing Critically Endangered White-rumped Vulture from Nepal Found in Bihar

News 18  

A missing critically endangered white-rumped vulture, being used by Nepal to monitor the population of the species and the success of a breeding drive, has been rescued in Darbhanga in Bihar earlier this month, officials here said. Its disappearance had been a matter of concern for the wildlife officials of Nepal till it was caught by the Bhagalpur bird ringing …

The last hope for vultures
2 years, 11 months ago

The last hope for vultures

The Hindu  

The Sigur plateau in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in the Nilgiris is one of the last remaining regions where a sizeable breeding vulture population is clinging on in Southern India. Three of the four species seen regularly in the Sigur are on the “critically endangered” list, while the other, the Egyptian vulture, is classified as being “endangered”. “Tamil Nadu is …

Vulture population on the rise in tiger reserve
3 years, 8 months ago

Vulture population on the rise in tiger reserve

The Hindu  

A recent study of the population of vultures in the Sigur plateau has found that the population of all four resident vulture species have seemingly been on the rise over the past few years. In a study titled Population status and seasonal distribution of vultures in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, published in the Journal of Science and Technology, authors S. Manigandan, …

Captive-bred white-rumped vultures released into the wild in Haryana
4 years, 3 months ago

Captive-bred white-rumped vultures released into the wild in Haryana

The Hindu  

October 10 was a red-letter day for Gyps vultures. The Haryana State Forest Minister released into the wild eight white-rumped vultures of the genus Gyps as a pilot trial from the Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre in Pinjore, northern Haryana. Chris Bowden of the RSPB and programme manager of the Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction consortium said: “Since the dramatic vulture …

Roosting site with rare vultures found near Madhya Pradesh’s Panna Tiger Reserve
4 years, 9 months ago

Roosting site with rare vultures found near Madhya Pradesh’s Panna Tiger Reserve

Hindustan Times  

While out on lockdown duty in April, a forest officer in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna stumbled upon one of the very few roosting sites for vultures in India. The officer’s rare spotting included 150 to 160 vultures of four species, along with the critically-endangered white-rumped vulture and endangered Egyptian vulture, roosting off the Katni-Panna highway, about 60 km from the Panna …

India's declining birdlife
5 years ago

India's declining birdlife

The Hindu  

“The State of India’s Birds 2020” report, which was released at the 13th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on February 17, provides worrying data about the status of birdlife in the country. It is the “first comprehensive assessment of the distribution range, trends in abundance and conservation status of most of the bird …

India's Birds in Danger? Of Species Assessed in Citizen Science Project, 50% Show Decline
5 years, 1 month ago

India's Birds in Danger? Of Species Assessed in Citizen Science Project, 50% Show Decline

News 18  

Gandhinagar: India's birds are not in the pink of health. A pioneering citizen science report that assessed the status of 867 birds said that of the 261 species for which long-term trends could be determined, 52% have declined since the year 2000. Using the three key indices combined with the Red List of International Union for Conservation of Nature, the …

Vulture Population in India Down From 4 Crore to Less Than 4 Lakh in 3 Decades: Javadekar
5 years, 1 month ago

Vulture Population in India Down From 4 Crore to Less Than 4 Lakh in 3 Decades: Javadekar

News 18  

New Delhi: The population of vultures in the country has declined sharply from four crore to less than four lakh in three decades, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Monday. Addressing the curtain raiser event for the upcoming 13th Conference of Parties of the United Nation Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, to be hosted by …

Conservation challenges of vultures continue in Nilgiris
5 years, 6 months ago

Conservation challenges of vultures continue in Nilgiris

Deccan Chronicle  

OOTY: The first Saturday of September, observed as ‘International Vulture Awareness Day’, reminds mankind about conserving vultures, nature's own disposal squad which help keeps the environs clean. Dr.B.Ramakrishnan, Assistant Professor of Wildlife Biology and Zoology at the Government Arts College here, who is the principal investigator in a 10 year project on vulture biology in the Moyar valley in the …

Vultures on the the brink of extinction in State?
12 years, 11 months ago

Vultures on the the brink of extinction in State?

The Hindu  

The population of vultures has declined so drastically in Andhra Pradesh that the scavenging bird is on the verge of extinction. Except for two vultures sighted in Utnoor in Adilabad in November last and February this year, they are not found anywhere else,” said G. Umapaty, senior scientist, Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species, a facility of the Centre …

Number of threatened bird species in India rises to 154
14 years, 10 months ago

Number of threatened bird species in India rises to 154

The Hindu  

The number of endangered bird species in the country has risen to 154 as compared to 149 two years ago, a recent study has said. Commenting on the decline in bird numbers, Mr. Rahmani said, “It is extremely alarming that almost 13 per cent of world’s birds are either critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable. Great Slaty Woodpecker is an addition …

Dying away
14 years, 10 months ago

Dying away

The Hindu  

FOR the three endangered species of Gyps vultures in India, 2009 was a year of mild optimism. The survey, which was published as a paper, Recent Changes in Populations of Resident Gyps Vultures in India, revealed that the population of the three species of vultures continues to decline at an alarming rate. A complete ban on the use of diclofenac …

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