COIMBATORE: A new nesting site of a long-billed vulture was found in a cliff near Thengumarahada near Bhavanisagar in Erode district. So far, vulture nests were recorded only in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in Nilgiris district whereas the new nest is in the Sathymangalam Tiger Reserve (STR).
S Bharathidasan, secretary of Arulagam that is involved in vulture conservation in the state for over a decade in collaboration with the forest department, spotted the nest during a recent field visit with researcher Dr G Christopher. According to him, this is the first nesting site of long-billed vultures outside the MTR.
Bharathidasan and his team, along with forest staff, have been closely observing nesting sites of vultures for the last 10 years, but they didn’t find long-billed vultures in STR. Nests of other raptors, including Bonelli’s eagle (Aquila fasciata), and fishing eagle, have been found.
But this time, after a two-hour long walk to the hillock, the conservationists have finally confirmed the presence of a long-billed nesting site, as they saw two vultures entering the nest to feed their chicks.
“This shows that we should focus more on STR and its surroundings similar to MTR in coming years,” said Bharathidasan.
Deputy director of STR R Kiruba Shankar said that the vultures have been thriving as they have not yet been disturbed by humans and the new site is located within 4 km aerial distance from the nearby human habitation. “We will ensure regular patrolling and strengthen their protection further,” he said. In the recent survey conducted by Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, 30 long-billed vultures were noticed in these three states as against the total number of 246 vultures.