Rare wounded vulture rescued from Nandigram

Kolkata: A Himalayan Griffon Vulture, a migratory bird native to the Himalayas, was rescued on Friday from Nandigram area in East Midnapore by officials of the Forest department. According to locals, the bird had fallen down from the sky during its flight due to an injured wing.

"We received information from local people that a vulture which had fallen down from the sky during its flight was injured. A team from the Khejuri beat office rushed to the spot and rescued it. The bird is presently under treatment," said a senior official of the Forest

department.

The official pointed out that sighting of this variety of vulture in this part of the state is very rare. The bird had been sighted in high altitudes of North Bengal during winter.

"The forests in our neighbouring states like Jharkhand and Odisha have relatively better animal habitat in comparison to North Bengal. The vulture along with a few others may have had a habitat there with one of them migrating here," said Pradip Kumar Vyas, former Chief Wildlife Warden of Bengal.

Himalayan Griffon Vulture is listed as 'Near Threatened' on the IUCN red list.

About 20 years back, it was revealed in a survey that the population of vultures was declining fast due to the use of diclofenac (a drug) in cattle. The drug remains in the

cattle flesh.

The Himalayan Griffon Vulture population has however not shown signs of rapid decline although reductions in nesting birds have been noted in some parts of its range

in Nepal.

Vulture conservation has assumed utmost importance after a recent study in 2016, reported that of the 22 vulture species, 9 are critically endangered, 3 are endangered and 4 are 'near-threatened.'