Telangana forest dept proposes second vulture sanctuary
HYDERABAD: Will Telangana government take necessary action for conserving the vulture species Gyps indicus, known popularly as the Long-billed vulture or Indian vulture, that is close to being extinct?
As per information from sources, Telangana forest department has proposed forest area spread over 397.99 square kilometers in Asifabad district, to be conserved as a wildlife sanctuary to protect long-billed vultures that reside here and has sent a proposal in this regard to state government last month.
The proposed ‘Jatayu wildlife sanctuary’ falls under Girelly, Bejjur and Gudem forest blocks in Asifabad. A decision to establish a sanctuary for conservation of vultures was taken last year in Telangana State Board for Wildlife meeting chaired by Forest Minister, Jogu Ramanna. The proposed sanctuary consists only reserved forests and has no revenue or private lands under it, which increases hopes that the state government will accept this proposal.
One more aim of forest department in proposing the vulture sanctuary is that the proposed area also covers the important ‘Tiger corridor’ forests, which facilitate movement of Tigers and other wildlife between Maharashtra’s Tadoba, Telangana’s Kawal and Chattisgarh’s Indravati tiger reserve. The forests proposed as vulture sanctuary are also home to a diverse fauna like the endangered four-horned antelope, Tiger, Leopard, Nilgai, Sambhar and Spotted deer.
If the state government accepts proposal for sanctuary, it would help Telangana forest department get access to almost `one crores of funds for undertaking better protection and conservation measures for vultures. If accepted, this will be India’s second vulture sanctuary, as one presently exists in Karnataka.
The Study
As per a study by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), published last year, the number of long-billed vultures in 2015 across India was pegged at a meagre 12,000. As per categorization by International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN), Long-billed vultures are listed as ‘Critically endangered’, the penultimate category to being listed as ‘Extinct in the wild’