Himalayan Griffon Vulture

Himalayan Griffon Vulture

• • An ancient vulture is the Himalayan Vulture, often known as the Himalayan Griffon Vulture. It is one of the two biggest real raptors and old-world vultures.
  • Old world vultures are members of the Accipitridae family of vultures and are located in the old world, which is defined as the continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
  • The lifespan of a Himalayan Griffon Vulture is between 40 and 45 years.
  • Its pale blue face skin contrasts with its darker brown larger covert feathers. The body feathers have pale shaft streaks, while the wing and tail feathers are black.

Himalayan Griffon Vulture Distribution

• • At elevations between 1,200 and 5,500 metres, the Tibetan plateau and the upper Himalayan regions are home to the Himalayan Griffon Vulture.
  • These vultures can soar high in the sky in search of carcasses on the ground thanks to their wide wingspan.
  • It is a known truth that vultures stop the transmission of disease to humans by eating the carcasses.
  • Mongolia, China, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan are among the countries that contain it.

IUCN Status

• • It is listed as Near Threatened (NT) by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).

Species of Vultures in India
Nine species of vultures are recorded in India.

• • Oriental White Backed Vulture (OWBV)
  • Long Billed Vulture (LBV)
  • Slender Billed Vulture (SBV)
  • Himalayan Vulture (HV)
  • Eurasian Griffon (EG)
  • Red Headed Vulture (RHV)
  • Egyptian Vulture (EV)
  • Bearded Vulture (BV)
  • Cinereous Vulture (CV)

The IUCN Red Data Book lists EV as endangered, HV, CV, and BV as Near Threatened (NT), and four species—OWBV, LBV, SBV, and RHV—as Critically Endangered.

• • Veterinary nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication (NSAID) Diclofenac The number of vultures in the nation has sharply decreased as a result of the anti-inflammatory medication Diclofenac users.
  • Vultures die suddenly from uric acid deposits in their visceral organs as a result of taking diclofenac.
  • An earlier estimate by the BNHS (Bombay Natural History Society) showed that between 1992 and 2007, three of India’s vulture species of the genus ‘Gyps’ had declined by 97%, while the slender-billed (Gyps tenuirostris) and the long-billed (Gyps indicus) had declined by nearly 99%. The white-backed (G. bengalensis) had declined by nearly 99%.
  • In addition to diclofenac, a number of other medications that veterinarians prescribed for cattle treatment may also be hazardous to vultures, according to research conducted by the BNHS and the Centre for Conservation Science of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
  • As the vultures eat carcasses, the medications enter their systems.
  • Diclofenac was outlawed in 2006, yet it appears that people can still take it.

Vulture Action Plan 2020 – 25

• • For the purpose of vulture conservation in the nation, the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has introduced the Vulture Action Plan 2020–25.
    • Since 2006, the ministry has been conducting a vulture conservation project. In order to actively boost vulture populations in India rather than only stop the loss, the project will now be extended until 2025.
  • The following are the primary goals of the 2020–25 Action Plan for Vulture Conservation (APVC):
  • Using NSAIDs to stop the poisoning of cattle corpses, vultures’ main source of diet testing vultures for NSAID safety in veterinary medicine.
  • If a medication is discovered to be hazardous to vultures, the DCGI (Drugs Controller General of India) will remove it from veterinary use.
  • Establishing more Conservation Breeding Centres and Vulture Conservation Centres across the nation.
  • Four rescue centres, one each in the northern region of Pinjore, Central India’s Bhopal, Northeastern India’s Guwahati, and South India’s Hyderabad, have been suggested to treat sick and injured vultures.