4 Species of Vultures to be Studied under Rajaji & Corbett Tiger Reserve | 31 Jul 2023

Why in News?

On July 29, 2023, Wildlife Warden Chief of Uttarakhand Forest Department, Dr. Sameer Sinha said that for the first time in the state, under Rajaji and Corbett Tiger Reserves, two birds of four species of vultures will be studied by putting satellite tags on them.

Key Points:

  • The Wildlife Warden Chief said that this bird of the hunter category is on the verge of extinction. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has placed them in the category of endangered bird.
  • The forest department has sought permission from the government to tag birds for the study to be conducted under Rajaji and Corbett Tiger Reserves.
  • It is known that no one has the exact figure of the number of vultures in Uttarakhand, which play an important role in maintaining the environmental balance.
  • The year 2005 data of the number of vultures has been shown in the statistics book of the Forest Department. According to this, the number of vultures is 1272 in protected areas and 3794 outside protected areas, totaling 5066.
  • Since then this data has not been updated. Now the Forest Department has once again taken the initiative to peep into the world of vultures. For this, in collaboration with WWF India, study will be done by putting satellite tags on two birds of four species of vultures.
  • The study will be carried out under Rajaji Tiger Reserve in Garhwal and Corbett Tiger Reserve in Kumaon. In this study, information will be collected about vultures' residence, migration, their routes, living conditions etc.
  • Study will be done on these species of vulture:
    • Red Headed Vulture
    • White-rumped Vulture
    • White Vulture (Egyptian Vulture)
    • Plas Fish
  • Dr. Saket Badola, director of Rajaji Tiger Reserve and the nodal officer of this project, said that these four species of birds of prey are very rare, but their presence has been found from time to time in different areas of Garhwal and Kumaon in Uttarakhand. The Forest Department is serious about their conservation. Under this, a comprehensive study will be done on them. This project will run for the next three years.
  • All these four predatory birds belong to scheduled forest species. Under the Wildlife Act, there is a provision for grant of license for special purposes in such cases. In such cases permission of the state government is required for education, research, research etc.