Rare King vulture visits the Queen of Hills

According to wildlife activists, vultures are known for scavenging in the forests. While their numbers are in decline, a team of activists has found this rare kind, the King Vulture. 

Vijay Krishnaraj, former secretary, Nilgiris Wildlife Association, says “We have been demanding a separate sanctuary for vultures in the Nilgiris and Mudumalai Tiger Reserve along the Moyar region as their increasing population would pave the way for healthy forests and wildlife. Further, as such forests have Arjun trees (terminalia arjuna) in large numbers, the birds will nest there and establish their habitat.” 

He added that there should be no cattle grazing in the forests as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, an injection, administered to cattle affects the kidneys of vultures. 

Vultures are nature’s most successful scavengers; they provide an array of ecological, economic and cultural services, says A Samson, another activist, who has done independent research on the birds. He says that there are nine species of vulture found in the Indian sub-continent, four of which are found in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR), namely, the Egyptian Vulture, Red-headed Vulture, White-rumped Vulture and Long-billed Vulture. 

“The sudden decline of vultures in the Indian subcontinent in the last decade is being attributed to disease, poisoning and reduction in food availability, although the drug injected in cattle is regarded as the principal cause of their diminution in India,” said the researcher.