Vulture chick born after a gap of seven years at Mysuru vulture sanctuary
MYSURU: After a gap of seven years, Ramadevara Betta Vulture Sanctuary in Karnataka has reported birth of a vulture chick, raising hopes among conservationists that the bird population might see a comeback in the region.
The sanctuary is the first of its kind in India, which was declared as Ramadevara Betta Vulture Sanctuary in 2012 by the Karnataka state government after much hue and cry by bird watchers.
Shashikumar, a bird watcher and member of Vulture Conservation Society, said that he was "...happy to sight a chick with its parents, perched on a boulder", and he zoomed his lens to find chick being fed by a pair of Long-Billed Vultures. “The last time we sighted a chick born in Sanctuary was in 2014-15 season and there hasn't been anything similar afterwards.”
According to Shashikumar, the Long Billed Vultures in the region haven't had chicks for a gap of seven years now, but this season has brought something to cheer about. Breeding season of Long Billed Vulture starts from November to March and a pair lays one egg in a season.
Shashikumar said the chick seems to be in good health, attended by its parents and fed regularly. “It is very good news for the revival of vulture population which has been on the decline in recent years. We hope that in coming years, Long Billed Vultures will make a comeback in Ramadevara Betta Sanctuary.”
Earlier, Ramadeva Betta and its surrounding places were home to a good number of Long-Billed Vultures before their population started to dwindle, owing to food scarcity and human disturbance among others factors.
As per a bird watcher in the area, farmers earlier used to dump carcasses of dead cattle in and around Ramanagar and adjoining places which was food for these scavenging birds. But farmers now bury the carcasses, causing food scarcity among the birds, resulting in their migration elsewhere for food. Presently, there are only a couple of pairs of Long Billed Vulture make a living in the sanctuary.
