Rare Egyptian Vulture rescued

Bird was found injured in a residential area, currently undergoing treatment

Struggling to take off: A Wildlife SOS team rescued the bird that had injured its right wing.

A rare Egyptian Vulture was rescued by the Wildlife SOS team from a residential area in Mayur Vihar Phase-1 on Saturday. The bird had injured its right wing and is currently undergoing treatment.

The Wildlife SOS Rapid Response Unit responded to a distress call on their 24 hour helpline ( 9871963535 ) about an injured vulture that was found outside a residence in Mayur Vihar. The unusual looking bird was lying on the side of the road and on seeing that it was struggling to fly, a concerned resident contacted Wildlife SOS for help.

Caught by manja

A two member rescue team was promptly dispatched to the location and upon arrival identified the bird as an Egyptian Vulture. Suspected to have been caught by a manja (glass-coated string) of a flying kite, the vulture’s right wing was severely injured and had to be rushed to the organisation’s rescue facility for treatment.

Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) also called the white scavenger vulture or pharaoh’s chicken is the smallest among all vultures.

Endangered species

It is a globally endangered species on the IUCN Red List.

A member of the rescue team said, “The bird was frightened and appeared to be in considerable pain. We had to carefully place it in a transport carrier to prevent it from hurting itself any further.”

Bone damage

Geeta Seshamani, co-founder Wildlife SOS said, “The X-ray reports revealed that the vulture’s right wing bone has been damaged and we are not sure if it will be able to recover enough to fly again. Our team is doing theirbest to provide the bird with necessary medicaltreatment for its injuries.”

The vulture is a useful scavenger and plays an important role in the ecosystem as by feeding on carrion, they are disposing off the carcasses of dead animals that would otherwise be a breeding ground for infectious diseases.