Ramanagar: It may be a protected habitat for their conservation, but only seven Long-billed Vultures have been sighted at the Ramadevarabetta Vulture Sanctuary in Ramnagar in recent years. Worried by their dwindling numbers, forest officials here are hoping to revive their population with some pointers from the Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre in Haryana.
Deputy Conservator of Forests, Ramnagar, Kranthikumar plans to visit the Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre in a couple of weeks to get a few tips on how to go about reviving the population of the vultures.
“Our main aim is to increase the population of the Long-billed Vultures at the sanctuary as we have about 25 White Rumped Vultures here,” the DCF explains. Ramadevarabetta had about 21 Long-billed Vultures in 2013 and bird watchers blame the drastic fall in their numbers on lack of food for the birds. Pointing out that the vultures, which are scavengers by nature, had plenty to feed on on the carcasses of cattle and livestock in and around Ramanagar in the past, they say the practice of selling infertile cows to abattoirs in recent years is depriving them of their food.
“There was once a healthy population of vulturies in Ramadevarabetta, and nearby places like Savanadurga in Tumakuru, which have a habitat similar to it, but now there are hardly any sightings of the Long-billed Vultures,” they lament.
Karnataka Vulture Conservation Trust, secretary, B Shashikumar, who is a regular bird watcher at the sanctuary, says the Long-billed Vultures have not nested there for the last three years and believes its officers need to take immediate action to tackle the problem and save the birds.
