MP Summer Census: 854 Vultures Spotted in Panna Tiger Reserve

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A three day summer census that concluded on Wednesday, conducted by the Panna Tiger Reserve reveals that the reserve has over 800 vultures in the vicinity.

The census shows an increase in the vulture count in the reserve as compared to the 2020-21 census. Out of the seven species, four types of vultures have been spotted in Panna this summer. Panna Tiger Reserve field director Anjana told Free Press that on an average, 854 vultures were spotted and this figure is higher than the year 2020-21 when 722 vultures were spotted.

The species wise assessment is yet to be done. Normally, Indian Long Billed Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, White Backed Vulture, Eurasian Vulture etc are found in Panna reserve. The counting of vultures started on April 29 and lasted till May 1.

A total of 65 vulture habitats were selected for the census study. On the first day, 594 adult vultures and 70 semi adult vultures were spotted. On the second day, the figure went to 780 adult vultures and 74 semi-adult vultures. On the final day-May 1, as many as 679 adult vultures and 78 semi adult vultures were spotted in different habitats. Total 15 volunteers have participated in the vulture census.