During these days, when the number of vultures is decreasing continuously, we have some great news – one of the three female vultures under the captive breeding in Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad has laid an egg on 30th of November, and it is expected to hatch by the month of January. The captive breeding centre here was established in 2009.
There are 3 female and 2 male Oriental white backed vultures in the zoo, and they are staying there since last 25 years. Of them all, only one pair is capable and fit for breeding. Between the months of November and February, the vultures actually breed. The breeding age of these vultures is from 7/8 years to 35/40 years. But they can breed up to 50 years during captivity.
A chick unfortunately died earlier this year, due to congenital disorder within 15 days of hatching. In fact, a laid egg fell down and broke the year earlier. Hence, the authority is fully geared up with the experiences they have earned from the previous mistakes and they are ready to provide all the facilities to the upcoming chick, according to veterinary surgeon of the zoo, P Srinivas Reddy.
Andhra Pradesh State Biodiversity Board has already shown the concern over the decreasing number of the vultures. The team members of zoo have found the vultures inside Adilabad forests, which added a little more cherry to the joy of Mr. Reddy.
list of the vultures found in India followed by a short description
- Cinereous Vulture: this species is the largest among all kinds of vultures and they are found near the Indo-China border, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
- Bearded Vulture: This is one of the most beautiful looking vultures and they are found in the Western Himalayas in India.
- Griffon Vultures: They are pretty large in size and ferocious in nature. You can find them In Himalayas and the far Deccan as well.
- Indian White Rumped Vultures: These were one of the most common species present in India and they could be found almost everywhere in the country. But now they are considered as an endangered species.
Population of vultures in India and causes that led to the drop in the numbers
The numbers of vultures in India are decreasing every day. For example, we could found about 80 million white-rumped vultures in India during 1980s. But now, they remained in few thousands only. In fact many of the above mentioned species are critically endangered in terms of existence. Here are some of the causes, which are responsible for the death of the vultures –
- Electrocution from the overhead electric wires
- The food shortage
- DICLOFENAC toxicities
- Malaria
- Excessive use of the pesticides by humans
- Scarcity of the nesting trees