Vadodara: The winged scavengers, it seems, are making a comeback to the forests of Chhota Udepur. In a rare sight, the forest officials and two bird watchers spotted a long-billed vulture near Makhaniya Parvat in Pavi Jetpur on Sunday.
The vulture was flying around when the trio spotted and photographed it.
“It was after six years that the long-billed vulture had been spotted at this place. These birds always move in groups so there is a possibility of more vultures having settled in this area,” said Vanraj Solanki, range forest officer (RFO), Pavi Jetpur, who was accompanied by Kartik Upadhyay and assistant professor Ranjitsinh Devkar, who teaches zoology at M S University.
“It is a good sign as the vultures seem to be getting enough food in the forests here. We are now trying to track down the other vultures,” Solanki told TOI. According to the forest officials, the spot around Makhaniya Parvat behind Sukhi Dam used to be the home to many vultures. “As per the 2006 census by the Gujarat Ecological Education and Research Foundation (GEER), 24 vultures were spotted near Sukhi Dam,” Solanki said.
“But the numbers have been dwindling since then. In 2014, we spotted a long-billed vulture in this area. But after that we couldn’t find a single vulture during our every annual visit at Makhaniya parvat. We usually visit this spot during winters as the vultures nest,” said Upadhyay.
When asked the reasons behind the drop in the number of vultures in the region, Solanki said, “There are many reasons including the use of diclofenac drug administered cattle. When vultures consume dead cattle, this drug enters their body causing their death. Also, not many locals now dispose dead livestock in open causing dearth of food for these scavengers,” Solanki added.