GOVERNMENT SAYS BREEDING PROJECT
IS FOR THE BIRDS
Nepal will open its first vulture breeding centre to try to save the birds from extinction. Of the eight species of vultures found in Nepal, the white-rumped and slender-billed vultures are critically endangered.
The new centre’s plan is to capture 10 breeding pairs for each species and keep them in aviaries in Chitwan National Park, located 80 km southwest of Kathmandu. It will take at least 3 years before the young can be released into the wild.
The numbers of both species have plunged from 50,000 nesting pairs in 1990 to about 500. The 97% decline is attributed to the vultures eating dead cattle treated with diclofenac, a drug used to treat inflammation. The drug has recently been banned in both Nepal and India.
Bird Conservation Nepal says it’s not too late for the vultures. The prompt ban on diclofenac, along with local conservation initiatives, can bring Nepal’s vultures back from the brink of extinction.
The new centre’s plan is to capture 10 breeding pairs for each species and keep them in aviaries in Chitwan National Park, located 80 km southwest of Kathmandu. It will take at least 3 years before the young can be released into the wild.
The numbers of both species have plunged from 50,000 nesting pairs in 1990 to about 500. The 97% decline is attributed to the vultures eating dead cattle treated with diclofenac, a drug used to treat inflammation. The drug has recently been banned in both Nepal and India.
Bird Conservation Nepal says it’s not too late for the vultures. The prompt ban on diclofenac, along with local conservation initiatives, can bring Nepal’s vultures back from the brink of extinction.
Shoutout to the government of Nepal for taking action, and to Bird Conservation Nepal and the Chitwan National Park for nursing the vulture population back to health.
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