Guwahati: After the population of the vultures dropped alarmingly in India, a local non-government organization (NGO) in Assam is running a successful programme to raise the population of the fast

Shimla, May 26: With the vulture population in the state going up from a mere 30 to 800 in the last one decade, the wildlife wing of the Forest Department has decided to identify new protected area

Breeding centre to release birds into area spread over Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh

Tiger Reserve status accorded for the 1.40 lakh hectares of Sathyamangalam with 90,000 hectares as core zone is a shot in the arm for conservation of rare flora and fauna besides combating the pressures of poaching as the Sathyamangalam valley is on the State border.

Welcoming the decision of the Union Government, president of Osai (an NGO involved in conservation) K. Kalidasan said that the status will go a long way in getting the required funds and undivided attention.

Sathyamangalam forest in Erode district has been declared a Tiger Reserve. It is the fourth such reserve in Tamil Nadu. The three other tiger reserves are at Mudumalai in the Nilgiris district, Anamalai in Coimbatore district and Kalakad-Mundanthurai in Tirunelveli district.

The Forest Department has received the Government Order declaring Sathyamangalam Forests as a tiger reserve, and the Union government has also notified it, Conservator of Forests, Erode circle, A. Venkatesh told The Hindu over the phone on Monday.

The good news is that the fall of vultures in South Asia, particularly India, has stopped and is even reversing in the case of some species such as the white-backed vulture.

A research paper in journal Science , titled “Pollution, politics and vultures,” says the 2006 ban on manufacture, import and sale of painkiller diclofenac for veterinary use, a cause for vulture mortality, and the timely response of the governments in India have helped.

KANPUR: At a time when national and international agencies are toiling hard to save the population of vultures, which is on the verge of extinction, sighting of around 108 vultures including White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus), Cinerous vulture (Aegypius monachus), long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus) at one go in Suhelwa Wild Life sanctuary, in Shrawasti district close to Nepal border, comes as a ray of hope for wildlife enthusiasts.

While visiting the forest areas of Suhelwa in Western range, district forest officer, Manish Mittal spotted a total number of 108 vultures feeding on a dead animal carcass. On close scrutiny, the scavengers were found to be species of white-backed vulture (Gyps africanus), cinerous vulture (Aegypius monachus) and long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus).

Thanks to the efforts of NGOs and State Forest Department

The population of vultures, a critically endangered species, is stabilising in the Moyar Valley in The Nilgiris North Forest Division in the State, thanks to the efforts of non-governmental organisations and the State Forest Department. S. Bharatidasan, Director, CareEarth Arulagam, the non-governmental organisation involved in the vulture conservation in the Moyar Valley, told The Hindu that through systematic protection measures the number of the forest scavengers’ nests had increased to 50 in January this year. Similarly, the number of vultures sighted also had also gone up.

Over two dozen vultures have died in Sakarpura and Sarswar VDCs in the district since last Friday after consuming animal carcasses. Locals at Ward Nos.