Vulture Awareness Day: WWF Launches Bring Back the Vultures' Poster

DELHI: Vultures play an important role in the food chain by eliminating the waste generated from decaying animals and hence are referred to as the cleaners of the environment. Vultures help eliminate the risks of diseases emanating from decaying animals. 

Today on the occasion of World Vulture Awareness Day, WWF India has created a poster with vulture species in India and their conservation status. 

WWF India has created this poster to raise awareness about Vultures and their conservation and to improve the understanding of Vultures among the common folk.

It has created a poster focusing on nine species of vultures found in the country. The species are namely White-rumped vulture, Indian long-billed vulture, Slender-billed vulture, Red-headed vulture, Egyptian vulture, Cinereous vulture, Bearded vulture, Himalayan Griffon, and Eurasian Griffon with their conservation status. 

The poster will be available in 9 Indian languages which are Telugu, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, and Assamese.

Various steps like captive breeding of a few species, banning the use of Diclofenac Sodium in veterinary treatment, and monitoring vulture populations in the wild have been taken up by the government and several conservation organizations.

The population of vultures has declined to a low number and their conservation in the country is imperative, WWF India pointed out in the release.

Ravi Singh, Secretary-General and CEO, WWF India said, "spreading awareness about the species of vultures in India will help address the need to conserve them."

Dr Diwakar Sharma, Director, National Conservation Programme WWF India said, "WWF India started a month-long vulture count through citizen science last September and this is being done again in September last year."

Earlier this year in April more than 100 vultures of the Himalayan Griffon species died in Assam after consuming the carcasses of dead animals mostly goats and calves.

A probe revealed that the dead animals were laced with poison used to kill feral dogs which kill goats and calves. Carbofuran pesticide used in paddy was also found to be one of the main killers of Vultures in the state of Assam. 

Also Read: Vulture conservation and breeding centre set up in Tripura

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