Indore: Believed extinct from Ratapani, Red-headed vultures found in bird survey

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The good news first! Red-headed vultures, believed to be extinct from the Ratapani area until recently, were spotted in the forest department's three-day bird survey, whose report was released on Friday.

The vultures were spotted in village Geedgarh, which takes its name from the vultures (Geed in Hindi). Senior officers of the forest department have issued special instructions to the local officials of Ratapani to monitor and preserve the Red-headed vultures.

The sighting of a group of Red-headed vultures, also known as King vultures, is an excellent sign for the forest area. The population has dwindled to ‘critically endangered’ due to poisoning of animal carcasses by locals and nesting challenges.

The Red-headed vulture population was once plentiful, but in the last couple of decades, the population has come dangerously close to extinction. It holds critically endangered status since 2007. In all, 7 species of vultures are found in Madhya Pradesh, out of which 4 are local, while 3 species are migrant and leave the state as soon as the winter is over.

210 bird species found in Ratapani

Overall, the bird survey found more than 210 bird species in the area, while there are more than 488 bird species in the state, according to the forest department. This means the Ratapani area holds 43 per cent of all the bird species found in the state. The Ratapani Tiger Reserve has one of the finest teak forests in the state and hence attracts a large variety of bird species including vultures. One of the major reasons for the falling vulture population in this area is deforestation.

Other findings of the survey

Led by divisional forest officer Vijay Kumar, 36 teams of 95 volunteers went out to cover the various forest area for the survey. Indore wildlife warriors were a part of most of the teams and surveyed various villages for recording bird species. Bird watchers Shrikhant Kalamkar, Sachin Matkar, Swapnil Fans and Ritesh Khabiya led Indore volunteers. Apart from headed vultures, some of the other interesting birds seen in the bird survey were: Created Tree Swift, Common Rosefinch, Racket-tailed drongo, Tufted Duck, Red Crested Pochard, Scarlet minivet, Ultramarine Flycatcher, Jerdon’s leafbird, Jungle Owlet, Bonelli's Eagle.

Expansion of vulture survey area this year

This year's vulture survey is expected to begin next week. The survey area will be expanded to count and preserve these vultures as well, said forest officials. Until last year, Panna and Mandsaur remained as major focal points for the forest department. Panna had reported 983 vultures. Mandsaur district registered 587 vultures, the second after Panna district. At least 416 birds were found in the adjoining district of Neemuch.