On International Vulture Awareness Day, September 3rd, WWF India launched a poster on vulture species in India, with conservation information on each species.
According to WWF India officials, vultures are frequently demonised because of their appearance and the role they play in nature’s food chain. This diminishes their importance as environmental cleaners, preventing disease transmission from decaying dead animals.
Officials stated that in order to improve people’s understanding of vultures, WWF India created the poster ‘Bring Back the Vulture,’ which highlights the nine species of vultures found in India.
Vulture populations have declined to dangerously low levels, and their conservation in the country is critical. The government and several conservation organisations have taken various steps, such as captive breeding of a few species, banning the use of diclofenac sodium in veterinary treatment, and monitoring vulture populations in the wild.
Spreading awareness about species of vultures in India
Ravi Singh, Secretary-General and CEO, WWF India said, “Spreading awareness about the species of vultures in India will help address the need of conserving them. Some conservation efforts are being made to protect and improve the vulture populations in the country. With initiatives like these we hope the populations of vultures increase and that they will continue to contribute ecological services at some scale.”
Dr. Diwakar Sharma, Director, National Conservation Programme WWF India said, “to take a step further towards the conservation of the raptor species, WWF India started a month-long vulture count through citizen science last September and this is being done again in September this year. The aim is to involve bird enthusiasts and train them in identifying vultures and recording the observations on eBird India for monitoring vulture populations.”
Poster has illustrations and information on each species
“The poster has illustrations and information on each species – White-rumped vultures, Indian long-billed vulture, Slender-billed vulture, Red-headed vulture, Egyptian vulture, Cinereous vulture, Bearded vulture, Himalayan Griffon and Eurasian Griffon – which include their conservation status. With the need to safeguard these important species, information on how they support our ecosystem, what happens in their absence and what we can do to save their remnant populations is stated to raise awareness of these threatened birds.
“The poster will share information with the reader on the importance of vultures and how we can try to save them. These posters will be also available in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali and Assamese for a wider reach at the grassroot level,” the statement said.
