15 new vulture pairs brought to Bhopal conservation centre from Pinjore

BHOPAL: Fifteen new pairs of white backed vultures reached Bhopal from Jatayu Breeding and Conservation Centre, Pinjore, Haryana on Thursday. They will be kept at vulture conservation centre at Kerwa for breeding and will be left in their natural habitats after that.
Those brought to Bhopal on Thursday include, 10 long billed vultures and five white backed vultures. All of them are of over five years of age.This has brought the population of vultures to 46 at the breeding centre.

Earlier, 15 pairs were brought from Haryana in April 2015 and 10 pairs in June 2016.
Faced with the prospect of extinction of vultures, forest officials in state capital have embarked on a project for introduction and breeding of the natural scavengers. Van Vihar National Park has developed a breeding center for vultures in the jungles near Kerwa.
To save them from extinction, eight breeding and procreation centres have been established in the country including Bhopal. Vulture breeding and conservation centre was set up at Bhopal in year 2011.
Vultures have a significant role in prevention of diseases due to animal carcasses. They are also helpful in environmental balance. Currently, the Bombay Natural History society is looking after the project for conservation and breeding and have been getting good response so far. “To study about the vultures and know what is hampering their population, an information centre has also been opened at Vulture conservation centre Bhopal,” told a Van Vihar National Park official.
Vultures at the breeding centre are fed on meat and are under strict surveillance of scientist and workers taking care of them, he added.
Madhya Pradesh forest department along with other agencies and Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) had launched a survey programme for counting of vultures’ population across the state since October 2015 till May 2016.
Van Vihar National Park team, on the other hand, is also working on mating of two tigers at national mark.