Two years on, MoEF has yet to respond to Telangana Forest Department’s call for approval to procure five pairs of white-backed vultures from Maharashtra.
Post Date – 11:00 PM, Thursday – 12/15/22
Hyderabad: Two years on, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has yet to respond to Telangana Forest Department’s call for approval to procure five pairs of white-backed vultures from Maharashtra.
This comes after the Telangana Forest Department and its counterpart in Maharashtra agreed to procure five pairs to boost condor conservation activities in the state. Center approval is mandatory for condor acquisition and transfer from one state to another.
“We have submitted the letter of agreement between the forest departments of Telangana and Maharashtra to the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 2020. But there has been no response yet,” said a senior official in the Telangana Forest Say.
Vulture nesting site on Palarapugutta in Kumram Bheem Asifabad.
This is when measures to protect tiger and mouse deer by the Telangana Forest Department are paying off. The state’s tiger population is currently estimated at about 25, and the same mouse deer conservation efforts have been successful.
The white-backed vulture has been listed as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The department has always taken bald eagle conservation seriously, but unfortunately, the efforts have not paid off well.
The Central Zoological Authority has approved the vulture conservation breeding program at the Nehru Zoo in Hyderabad. However, since the birds are between 30 and 35 years old, the chicks don’t survive for more than two to three weeks after laying eggs, the official said, adding that a genetic disease could be another reason.
The ministry has also stepped up measures to promote natural reproduction in Palarapugutta within the Penchikalpet forest range in Kumram Bheem Asifabad due to ineffective captive breeding.
Usually, vultures fly to this cliff from Maharashtra due to the favorable environment for nesting. There hasn’t been much nesting activity in the area due to heavy rains over the past two years.
Things are now looking bright, however, as forest officials are regularly spotting bald eagles in the area again this breeding season, which runs from November to February. Since vultures are also found in Maddimadugu and Kollapur, wildlife activists want the forest department to also carry out breeding and conservation activities in the Amrabad forest division.
Measures by the Telangana Forest Department
To strengthen condor protection measures in the state, the forestry department approved the establishment of an observation room at Balarapurguta and appointed a biologist for the Kaghaznagar forest department.
Under this initiative, the ministry has approved Rs 4 million and is arranging necessary equipment such as telescopes. In addition, local staff were instructed to create a natural atmosphere to attract birds to the area.
To this end, staff are arranging food resources and livestock free of any veterinary drugs. The carcasses were scattered throughout the site to ensure the birds flew down to breed, the official said, adding that observation room activities would be ready in March.
