Hyderabad Zoo Welcomes 10 Long-Billed Vultures For Conservation Breeding
Long-billed vultures, once widespread across the sub-continent, have faced a sharp population decline due to habitat loss and the use of veterinary drugs like diclofenac.
Hyderabad: Ten long-billed vultures (Gyps indicus), including females, arrived at the Nehru Zoological Park from the Jatayu Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre at Pinjore, Haryana on June 27. After a 40-day quarantine, they would be moved to the zoo’s vulture conservation breeding centre. The vultures were reportedly doing well and their health was being monitored.
“These birds were selected from different parent stocks to maintain genetic diversity,” said a senior zoo official. “This helps strengthen the breeding line and improves the chances of a healthy population in the long run.” He said 24 vultures were expected to be transferred to Hyderabad as part of a plan to boost culture conservation in southern India but the other birds from the batch had been distributed to other states.
Long-billed vultures, once widespread across the sub-continent, have faced a sharp population decline due to habitat loss and the use of veterinary drugs like diclofenac.