Endangered Indian vulture sighted in Dhangadhi

By Abinash Chaudhary,Dhangadhi, Apr. 4:The Indian vulture, popularly known as ‘lamo thude giddha,’ has been sighted for the first time in western Nepal. 

A highly endangered Indian vulture was found in the Kisan Buffer Zone Community Forest area of Beldandi Rural Municipality-5 in Kanchanpur.

The vulture was sighted by a team consisting of Hiru Lal Dangaura, Mahananda Joshi, Suwan Chaudhary, Gopal Chaudhary, Krishna Chaudhary, and Parashuram Rana while conducting a census of the endangered Bengal florican (Kharmajur) in Shuklaphanta National Park.

The vulture was spotted on April 2 while it was feeding on a carcass in the community forest area, alongside the Slender-billed vulture, White-rumped vulture, and Red-headed vulture, according to ornithologist Hiru Lal Dangaura.

“Our attention was drawn to that vulture after noticing it appeared slightly smaller and different from the other vultures in our vicinity,” he said. Although identifying it was a bit challenging due to its half-adult stage, the team later confirmed it as an Indian vulture,” Dangaura said.

The Indian vulture, listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), is considered a ‘winter visitor’ bird to Nepal. It is believed that this species of vulture, which is relatively found in abundant in India and Pakistan, migrates to Nepal during the winter months.

Previously, the Indian vulture was first recorded at Jatayu Restaurant in Nawalpur on December 1, 2011. The vulture sighted in the central area of Shuklaphanta National Park marks the second recorded sighting in Nepal. “This is the initial record for Western Nepal and the second record for Nepal as a whole,” Dangaura said.

According to Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN), the Indian vulture is breeding in the central region of India. BCN vulture conservation programme manager Ankit Bilash Joshi said that vultures of this species make their nests in the clip and old temples.

According to him, the population of Indian vulture, which are abundant in India and Pakistan, has not been accurately determined in Nepal. 

“In Nepal, this vulture is only occasionally seen,” he said. “After its initial sighting at Jatayu Restaurant in Nawalpur, it was continuously observed for seven years.”

Joshi suggested that the Indian vulture recorded in the central area of Shuklaphanta may have migrated to Nepal from India. With the appearance of the Indian vulture, the number of bird species found in Shuklaphanta National Park has reached 463.