03 Jul, 2024

Into the Wild: Pench Tiger Reserve Maharashtra GPS Tags and Releases 10 Vultures

Maharashtra’s Pench Tiger Reserve, along with the Bombay Natural History Society, or BNHS, has GPS tagged and released 10 Long-billed vultures in its jungles. Long-billed vultures are a species of birds that are in major need of conservation, and fall under the category of ‘Critically Endangered’ according to the IUCN’s Red List.

Though before coming to Pench, the birds inhabited the Jatayu Conservation and Breeding Centre in Pinjore, Haryana till January of 2024, after which they were kept in an aviary, set up in a different corner of the tiger reserve, allowing them to better acclimate to the local environment for an easier relocation.

The 10 vultures, that consist of 5 male and 5 female vultures, were released in the Pench Tiger Reserve after being in the aviary for around 5 months. Currently, the jungles of the tiger reserve are home to over 100 vultures with an estimate of 20 nests, and has a varied population of vultures such as Long-billed, White-backed, Eurasian griffon, Egyptian, and Red-headed vultures.

BNHS, or the Bombay Natural History Society is a Mumbai-based NGO that has been at the forefront of the vulture conservation practice in India, owing to a decline in its population in the 1990s. Ever since its advent in 2001 as a vulture care center and in 2004, as a breeding and conservation center, has managed to successfully foster and raise over 700 vultures. With such an abundant population of these avian species, BNHS has now decided to release these vultures in their habitats in different phases.

Pench National Park News Inputs.