15 Long-billed Vultures Geo-tagged, released from Melghat aviary

 

 

 

The Long-billed Vultures were born at Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre in Pinjore, Haryana, and brought to Melghat  

 

 

Maharashtra Forest Department with the help of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), successfully carried out tagging of 15 Long-billed Vultures at Melghat Tiger Reserve, recently. The tagging programme was led by Dr Sachin Ranade, with support from Bhaskar Das and Athira, who are part of the Vulture Reintroduction Programme. Of the 15 vultures, 11 were fitted with GSM tags and 4 with satellite PTT tags. The tags were attached using a backpack-style harness, a safe method known as harnessing. Also, all the vultures were fitted with blue-coloured leg rings carrying identification numbers.

 

The tags are solar-powered and will help scientists track movement, travel distance, safety, and survival of the vultures after their release into the wild. Chief Wildlife Warden of Maharashtra M Sreenivas Reddy is personally monitoring and guiding the entire project. The vultures were born at the Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre in Pinjore, Haryana, which is BNHS’s first such centre in India. They were later brought to Melghat, where they were given training of feeding on their own and allowed to acclimatise for the last eight months before being released. During this period, the birds were regularly checked for health and monitored through CCTV cameras to observe their natural behaviour. Kishor Rithe, Director of BNHS, said, making the landscape safe for vultures is a key step before their release. 

 

 

surveys to ensure that harmful and banned veterinary medicines are not sold or used, he explained. Adarsh Reddy, Field Director of Melghat Tiger Reserve, expressed his happiness over completion of the tagging operation and stated that “This effort marks an important step towards the conservation and successful reintroduction of Long-billed Vultures in Melghat landscape. We hope that these birds will get support from the Animal Husbandry Department and the Food and Drugs Administration Department from Buldhana, Akola, Amravati districts as well as the departments concerned from adjoining Madhya Pradesh”.