Ooty: Himalayan griffon vulture and Cinereous vulture from the Himalayan sector were the recent visitors to the Moyar valley. S. Bharathidasan, secretary of the NGO, ‘Arulagam’, said that researchers with his organisation spotted these two rare species of vultures, which are listed as near threatened species, in the recent times in Moyar Valley. This has triggered more interest in vulture studies in the valley.
“While Himalayan Griffon vulture, an old world vulture species and a raptor, was spotted in the valley in the recent months, the Cinereous vulture was spotted for the past three consecutive years in the Moyar Valley. But, in both the cases, only a single bird was spotted in different locations at different times,” he noted.
Cinereous vulture spotted at Moyar Valley.
“Sometimes it so happens that some juvenile in the vulture colony in North Himalayas wean away in the interest of flying more and travel down to south in search of new habitat and prey. Himalayan Griffon vulture was spotted mingling with the other vulture population in the Moyar valley jungles,” he explained.
“Future studies will throw light on whether Moyar Valley will become the perfect habitat for these two mountain loving vulture species from Himalayan sector and whether they may try to shift their base to Moyar Valley to thrive along with other vultures there,” Mr. Bharathidasan pointed out.
