Nagpur, Jul 5 (PTI) Ten white-rumped vultures, a critically endangered species, were tagged with GSM trackers in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, an official has said.
The initiative was part of the Jatayu conservation project, TATR field director Jitendra Ramgaokar said in a release on Thursday.
“Ten white-rumped vultures (Gyps bengalensis), previously relocated from the BNHS Vulture Conservation & Breeding Centre in Haryana’s Pinjore, were successfully tagged with GSM-based tracking devices. It was a collaborative effort between Bombay Natural History Society team and the local forest department staff,” he said.
“These vultures, which were released into a specially constructed pre-release aviary at Botezari within the Kolsa Range of TATR on January 21 this year, underwent tagging to monitor their movements and behaviour. Along with tagging, blood and faecal samples were also collected from these birds as part of comprehensive health assessments to ensure the absence of diseases before their release into the wild,” he added.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorised white-rumped vultures as critically endangered.
The Jatayu conservation project, an initiative of state forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, is being carried out under the guidance of BNHS chairperson Pravinsingh Pardeshi, BNHS secretary Kishor Rithe and PCCF (Wildlife) Maheep Gupta, as well as field director Jitendra Ramgaonkar and Deputy Director Anand Reddy, the release added. PTI CLS BNM NR
