Vulture Conservation in Nepal : Everything About Rare Vulture
Vulture Conservation in Nepal
Vulture Conservation in Nepal : Overview
Vulture Conservation in Nepal , Birds are often known for their beautiful or melodious sounds. But the vulture is an exception. Among birds, the vulture is the only bird that some find violent and disgusting. This bird, which is seen in the piles of carcasses and garbage, is portrayed in the society as dirty as well as an ominous sign. The vulture is so despised that we are insulting each other like ‘vulture’, ‘vulture vision’, ‘vulture culture’.
The movie ‘Loot’, which has earned the name of the market and critics, has a dialogue about Kathmandu – ‘City of vultures’
Vultures in Nepal
In Nepal, there are 9 species of vultures including Hadfor, Seto, Dangar, Sano Khairo, Khairo, Himali, Raj, Sun and Long Chunde. Among these vultures are the vulture, the little gray vulture, the golden vulture, and the long-tailed vulture. White vultures are endangered, mountain vultures are close to endangered, and gray vultures are in normal condition.
Of the vultures found in Nepal, only six species of vultures build their nests and hatch their young. The vulture, the little gray, and the golden vulture are nesting trees, while the mountain vulture and the white vulture are nesting in the rocks. Like other bird species, the vulture’s males are not easily distinguished.
A pair of vultures live together for the rest of their lives, from nesting to nesting and rearing. In Nepal, vulture habitat is found in the Terai and mid-hill forests of western Nepal.
Significance of Vulture Conservation in Nepal
Every creature in nature has its own significance, vultures also have their own religious, cultural and environmental significance. According to Hinduism, the vulture is worshiped as Saturn’s vehicle. In the Ramayana, when Ravana abducted Sita, Jatayu, who fought till his last breath, was an eagle. The practice of cutting the corpse into pieces and feeding it to vultures is still prevalent in the Himalayan communities. This community worships the vulture as an angel who takes the soul of the deceased to heaven.
The role of vultures is important in making the environment free from pollution, odors and diseases. In the absence of vultures, the carcasses are scattered throughout the environment, resulting in epidemics of various diseases such as diarrhea, rabies, plague, cholera, measles, and anthrax, brucellosis, and tuberculosis in cattle.
According to a study, the cost of carcass management is estimated to be about 11,000 per vulture.
It is estimated that there were about 1 million to 1.6 million vultures in Nepal in the 1990’s. However, the number of vultures suddenly dropped by 90 percent to less than 20,000. A study by the Nepal Bird Conservation Association from 2002 to 2011 showed that the number of cattle vultures decreased by 91 percent and small gray vultures by 96 percent.
Awareness about vultures
The twelfth International Vulture Awareness Day is being observed in the world on the first Saturday of September, accordingly today, 20th August.
Vulture conservation in Nepal depends on the community and activism. If Nepal is to go one step further in vulture conservation, it still needs the cooperation of the community, all stakeholders, central, state and local governments, protected areas, divisional forest offices, veterinary centers and all non-governmental organizations based on conservation. Let’s unite and protect the vulture, let’s protect the vulture’s habitat.
