Birding enthusiasts from Hyderabad could possibly have an answer to the puzzling phenomenon of vultures not feeding at the vulture restaurant established by the Forest Department at Bejjur in Adilabad district. Their suggestion is likely to invigorate the conservation effort for the critically endangered Indian vulture species initiated in March this year.
After ‘finding’ the vulture habitat in Murliguda forest beat of Bejjur forest range about 2 years back, a conservation plan, which includes opening of a vulture restaurant, was put in place by the Forest Department. The scavenger birds did breed successfully on the Pala Rapu cliff, the habitat in question, but they stayed away from the meat provided at the restaurant or at their favourite water hole.
The restaurant is a one hectare fenced off area with a 2.5-metre elevated perch or table in the middle. The conservationists twice put a skinned goat and cattle at this place which the vultures did not care to eat.
“Such behaviour is kind of enigmatic,” observed Surekha Aitabathula of the Birdwatchers Society of Andhra Pradesh (BSAP), as she initiated a discussion on the topic of vultures ignoring meat, after her visit to the vulture habitat in April. The discussion was promptly joined by other birding enthusiasts like Humayun Taher, also of the BSAP, and Rajeev Mathew of Hyderabad.
The latter provided insights into the conservation plan at Chamorshi forests in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, about 70 km as the crow flies from Bejjur, where there is a large population of the scavenger birds as seen in the photos provided by the Gadchiroli Division Forest Department. He said the birds not only get to eat at the vulture restaurant thrice every week, they find a steady supply of bush meat in nearby Chandrapur where there is thriving tiger population.
Wondering if the vultures are able to recognise the ‘meat’ of a skinned animal which was placed in the vulture restaurant at Bejjur, Mr. Taher suggested providing ‘whole’ dead animal without skinning it. He also wondered if the artificial surface on which the ‘food’ was being placed was making the birds wary.
“Yes, we will try providing a carcass with its skin on this time,” agreed Bejjur Forest Range Officer M. Ram Mohan who leads the conservation team. “We will soon visit Chamorshi to get firsthand experience of the conservation effort there,” he added.
