Eurasian Griffon Vulture rescued in Kannur now spotted in Maharashtra

Forest officials had cared for the exhausted bird after finding it at Chakkarakal on December 28

Eurasian Griffon Vulture, which was rescued in Kannur and later released in Muthanga forest.

The Eurasian Griffon vulture, which was rescued by the Forest Department in Kannur and later released in the Muthanga forest, has been spotted in the Sahyadri Tiger Sanctuary in Maharashtra.

Eurasian Griffon vultures are mainly found in Tibet, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Himalayan ranges in India. It is known for travelling long distances in search of food .

The one spotted in Kannur was the first to be seen in this region, said P. Karthick, Division Forest Officer, Kannur.

Happy that the vulture was doing well and was found about 1,000 km away in Maharashtra, he said when the bird was found at Chakkarakal in Kannur on December 28, it seemed exhausted and unable to fly.

However, the department, with the support from the Malabar Awareness and Rescue Centre for Wildlife, treated it for over a month. It was then tagged and was released in the Muthunga forest. This was because the vulture would not get anything much to eat in the Kannur forest. In the Muthunga forest, it would get animal carcasses to feed on, he said.

After the release, the vulture was spotted in the wild in Wayanad till February last. It has now been spotted in the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve by a forest guard, Santosh Chalake, who also saw the bird in Patan tehsil of Satara district on May 9.

The photos taken by Mr. Chalake were shared by Rohan Bhate, Wildlife Warden in Satara district, in a social media group, and thus was known that it was indeed the vulture that was found and tagged in Kannur.

The bird has been recorded as the first Eurasian eagle to reach the Sahyadri Tiger Sanctuary.