While out on lockdown duty in April, a forest officer in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna stumbled upon one of the very few roosting sites for vultures in India. The officer’s rare spotting included 150 to 160 vultures of four species, along with :

the critically-endangered white-rumped vulture ,and

endangered Egyptian vulture.

The roosting site was found off the Katni-Panna highway, about 60 km from the Panna Tiger Reserve.

The two  possible factors that could have led to this newly developed suitable habitat for vultures are:

1) Ravines in roosting site

2) Availability of food.

Vultures disappeared in large numbers in the mid-’90s largely due to ingestion of residues of the veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac in cattle carcasses.

According to a study published in Journal of Bombay Natural History Society in 2007, the decline of vultures was first documented at Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan. Subsequently, their numbers declined across the country. Surveys were conducted in 2007 on the same tracks as surveys conducted in the 90’s and early 2000’s.

Experts have suggested strict discontinuation in usage of diclofenac can bring vultures back in India’s biodiversity.

Government Initiatives-

1) vulture restaurants- to provide chemical free meals to vultures. Eg- Phansad wildlife sanctuary of Maharashtra

2) SAVE (Saving Asia's Vulture from Extinction) - International Cooperstion among Asian countries.

3) Contruction of Vulture Safe Zones (VSZ) -an area without use of diclofenac

4) switch over to Meloxicam (vulture save drug) in veterinary use