Tripura set to begin captive breeding of vulture

Agartala: Wildlife authority of Tripura will start captive breeding of vulture in Sepahijala wildlife sanctuary following steady decline of the bird species in the state over past few years.
Chief Wildlife Warden and Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Atual Kumar Gupta said here today that Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has agreed to support the mission technically to figure up the nature cleaner.
According to Dr Gupta, as advised by Cambridge based World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), BNHS and Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), along with state forest department, have initiated to ensure Tripura as Diclofen (a painkiller and anti-inflammatory drug commonly administered to the cattle that are a mainstay of the vultures’ diet) free state.
“The state has already issued ban on use of Diclofenic drug by health department, department of animal resources and state drug control authority but it required a strong surveillance otherwise, the entire mission will go into vein,” Dr Gupta stated. He, however, pointed out that in his last meeting with WCMC in Cambridge last year, the issue of vulture conservation had got highest priority. BNHS also agreed to take part in the activities in Tripura, which is expected to begin within next few months.
Referring to lastest wildlife survey, Dr Gupta said only 55 vultures had been spotted in the state including a pair in Sepahijala sanctuary and the figure indicated a steady decline of the species in Tripura over the year. Vulture, an extremely endangered species has been shifted under intensive care in the Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary. Across the country the species had decreased rapidly because of rampant use of Diclofenic drug on animal in last three decade, Dr Gupta underlined.
Tripura will implement the project to bring back the vulture with the ornithologists’ report of gradual disappearance of nature’s most cleaning machine from the skyline.
Besides, launching public campaign against superstitious myths about vulture, the forest department of Tripura has sought help from UK based organisation Royal Society of Preservation of Birds (RSPB) to protect the species.
According to official report, not a single vulture has been sighted in urban locations of Tripura during the last eight years while the number of the bird has sharply declined in interior locations and forest areas. “The human corpses are rarely dumped in the open, while animal carcasses are now safely disposed of, which has been depriving the vultures of their natural food,” Gupta said quoting ornithologists observation. Not only in Tripura, the vulture populations have declined by 97 per cent in the world in the past decade. (UNI)