Swoop of the vulture

A year ago, SNM members put up a square-shaped dumping ground near the Anjarle seashore, protected with a meshed fence. The aim was to ensure uninterrupted feeding for the white-backed or white-rumped vultures (Gyps bengalensis), a highly endangered species.

And the results look promising. The number of vulture hatchlings that was constantly going down—from 15 in 2003-04 to only 10 in 2004-05 and further down to five in 2005-06 and two in 2006-07—has gone up to nine this year.

Bhau Katdare, who has been spearheading the mission, said, “While Diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drug administered to both humans and animals, is commonly cited as one of the prominent reasons for the thinning vulture population, I think lack of food could be another reason why these scavenger birds don’t lay eggs.”

“There are somewhere around 10,000 white-backed vultures across the country. However, these birds are on a fast track to extinction. Almost 99 per cent of this type of vulture has disappeared when compared to 1992,” said Dr Vibhu Prakash, a senior scientist at the Vulture Conservation Breeding Program in Pinjore in Haryana. But he stuck to the fact that Diclofenac was a prominent cause of vulture deaths.

Katdare and his friends started studying the vultures in Anjarle in 2003-04. “We zeroed in on Anjarle village, as it houses one of the few remaining colonies of vultures found in the Konkan region. We started observing their food patterns and other conditions. We also installed close circuit TV cameras beside their nests to study their breeding conditions. Our observations revealed 40 per cent false incubation in 2005-06, which means the birds were seen incubating for around 2 to 3 months, without laying any eggs,” said Katdare.

“These days, people prefer to follow the health department’s guidelines of burying their dead cattle instead of throwing them in the open. This is a major reason why vultures don’t get enough food,” he said.

Katdare and his friends decided to construct a compound in Anjarle, where the dead cattle could be dumped. Their first job was to convince the villagers and the grampanchayat. “Though initially, nobody was willing to permit us to set this up, we managed to convince them,” said Vijay Mahabal, another member of SNM.

They also roped in Mahadik, who readily came forward to cart the carcasses. The SNM even published pamphlets with Mahadik’s phone number on it, appealing people to hand him their dead cattle.

“What these people are doing is exemplary,” said M N Pawar, subdivisional forest officer, Ratnagiri.

Now, the SNM is planning to replicate this model at other vulture colonies in Konkan.