Shivashankar Banagar, a bird-watcher from Hospete (also known as Hospet) in north Karnataka, was busy with his routine schedule when he heard of a ‘big bird’ found by a bunch of curious school children near Vivekananda School in his neighbourhood in Ranipete on December 16.
He rushed to the spot, but did not find the bird. His enquiries led him to Venu Totadavara Mane, who had allegedly taken the bird from the children and to his home.
The rescued Eurasian Griffon at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Zoological Park in Kamalapur near Hampi, Karnataka.
He reached out to Mr. Venu and found the bird in a cage with food and water. He took photographs of the bird and shared them with his photography teacher Pampaiah Malemath, a wildlife photographer from Kamalapur near Hampi, and Shashi, another wildlife photographer from Ramanagar. Both identified it as Eurasian Griffon, a vulture species rare for south India. They advised Mr. Banagar to inform the Forest Department, as the bird could not be domesticated.
“At first sight, I thought it was a long-billed vulture, but came to know it was an Eurasian Griffon, a rare species of vulture seldom found in south India. I also came to know that the bird fell because of dehydration,” Mr. Banagar told The Hindu.
The Range Forest Officer from Hosapete took charge of the bird, which was handed over to the experienced staff at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Zoological Park in Kamalapur, near Hampi. Dr. Vanishree, a veterinary doctor in the zoo, began caring for the new and injured entrant. The bird triggered online debates on whether it was an Eurasian Griffon or a Himalayan Griffon. But experts concluded it was the former.
Staff at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Zoological Park are taking care of the the rescued Eurasian Griffon, in Kamalapur near Hampi, Karnataka.
Mr. Shashi shared contact details of experts in the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) with Mr. Banagar who, in turn, shared them with Dr. Vanishree. She contacted the BNHS experts and, upon their advice, modified the treatment for the vulture.
“It is now recovering fast. We are feeding chicken and mutton. It may take 3-4 days for the bird to get stable and continue its flight to its destination,” Dr. Vanishree told The Hindu.
Kiran M.N., Director of Atal Bihari Vajapayee Zoological Park, told The Hindu, “We have neither proper facility nor permission from Central Zoo Authority to keep the bird. I enquired with Mysuru zoo authorities who also pleaded helplessness by stating that they too do not have the facility or permission. Patna zoo has the facility but they are not interested in keeping the bird. We will simply let it go once it recovers and is able to fly.”
The rescued Eurasian Griffon vulture at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Zoological Park in Kamalapur near Hampi, Karnataka. The primary habitats of Eurasian Griffon vultures are in Italy, Croatia, Cyprus, Israel and Greece.
The primary habitats of Eurasian Griffon vultures are in Italy, Croatia, Cyprus, Israel and Greece. They are also found in Belgium, Germany, Serbia, Austria and Portugal. They are often confused with Himalayan Griffon vultures, which are mainly found in Nepal and Tibet.
