Archi Sehgal¹* and Krishan Kumar²

¹Department of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Amity University, Noida, India
²Divisional Forest Officer, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

*Corresponding Author: Archi Sehgal, Department of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Amity University, Noida, India.

Received: November 24, 2021 Published: December 16, 2021

Abstract

This study aimed to infer nest count for breeding period 2018, identify key variables for nest site selections and understanding the role of distance from feeding station to each nesting colony. The Nest count were conducted during breeding period, each nest categorize into active and inactive nests based on assessment of different components. Simultaneously, different variables (tree height, tree species, elevation and aspect) were recorded for each nest. Aerial distance was used to determine the role of feeding station for selecting nesting colonies. From the 24 nesting colonies, 352 active nests were recorded, and a significant Pearson’s correlation for elevation and aspect were drawn. We found, vulture prefer single tree specie for nesting. We also found that, 71% (n = 17) nesting colonies were located within radial distance of 20 km. The study highlights high congregration of active nests within short radial distance from feeding station which signify the positive impact of management of feeding station by the wildlife wing of Forest department since 2008, for the ex-situ conservation of critically endangered Oriental White Backed Vulture (Gyps bengalensis).

Keywords: Oriental White Backed Vulture; Gyps bengalensis; India; Nest site Selection; Feeding Station

References

1. https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/content/documents/vulture_symposium_proceedings_2016.pdf
2. Ali Salim and Sidney Dillon Ripley. "Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan” (1983).
3. Naoroji Rishad and N John Schmitt. Birds of prey of the Indian subcontinent. Om Books International, (2007).
4. Puri Kanchan., et al. "Abundance of vultures in Shivalik foothills of north west India”. International Journal of Science and Environment7 (2018): 1750-1754.
5. Galushin Vladimir M. "A huge urban population of birds of prey in Delhi India”. Ibis4 (1971): 522-522.
6. Prakash Vibhu. "Status of vultures in Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, with special reference to population crash in Gyps species”. Journal Bombay Natural History Society96 (1999): 365-378.
7. Pain Deborah J., et al. "Causes and effects of temporospatial declines of Gyps vultures in Asia”. Conservation Biology3 (2003): 661-671.
8. Prakash, Vibhu, et al. "Catastrophic collapse of Indian white-backed Gyps bengalensis and long-billed Gyps indicus vulture populations”. Biological conservation3 (2003): 381-390.
9. Oaks J Lindsay., et al. "Diclofenac residues as the cause of vulture population decline in Pakistan”. Nature6975 (2004): 630-633.
10. Green Rhys E., et al. "Rate of decline of the oriental white-backed vulture population in India estimated from a survey of diclofenac residues in carcasses of ungulates”. PLoS One8 (2007): e686.
11. Sharma, Indra Kumar. "Breeding of the Indian Whitebacked Vulture at Jodhpur”. Ostrich3 (1970): 205-207.
12. Gilbert Martin., et al. "Breeding and mortality of oriental white-backed vulture Gyps bengalensis in Punjab Province, Pakistan”. Bird Conservation International4 (2002): 311-326.
13. Thakur M L. "Breeding ecology and distribution of White-rumped Vultures (Gyps bengalensis) in Himachal Pradesh, India”. Journal of Raptor Research2 (2015): 183-191.
14. Baral N A B I N., et al. "Population status and breeding ecology of White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis in Rampur Valley, Nepal”. Forktail21 (2005): 87.
15. Clements Tom., et al. "Vultures in Cambodia: population, threats and conservation”. Bird Conservation International1 (2013): 7-24.
16. Ferguson-Lees James. "Raptors of the world: an identification guide to the birds of prey of the world”. (2001).
17. Piper Steven E., et al. "Modelling survival rates in the Cape Griffon Gyps coprotheres, with emphasis on the effects of supplementary feeding”. Bird Study1 (1999): S230-S238.
18. Snyder Noel FR and Helen A Snyder. “Introduction to the California condor”. Univ of California Press 81 (2005).
19. Forest survey of India. “State of forest report”. Ministry of Environment and Forest, Dehradun, India (2017).
20. Haines Dawn E and Kenneth H Pollock. "Estimating the number of active and successful bald eagle nests: an application of the dual frame method”. Environmental and Ecological Statistics3 (1998): 245-256.
21. Chomba Chansa and Eneya M'Simuko. "Nesting patterns of raptors; White backed vulture (Gyps africanus) and African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer), in Lochinvar National Park on the kafue flats, Zambia”. Open Journal of Ecology5 (2013): 325.
22. Thakur M L and S K Narang. "Population status and habitat-use pattern of Indian White-backed Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) in Himachal Pradesh, India”. Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment7 (2012): 173-180.
23. Freund Myriam., et al. "Breeding Success and its Correlation with Nest-Site Characteristics: A Study of a Griffon Vulture Colony in Gamla, Israel”. Journal of Raptor Research2 (2017): 136-144.
24. Vlachos Christos G., et al. "Effects of the feeding station establishment on the Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus in Dadia Forest, North Eastern Greece”. RD Chancellor, B.–U. and Meyburg and JJ Ferrero, eds. Holarctic birds of prey, Proceedings of an international conference. Mérida and Berlin: ADENEX-WWGBP 197 (1998).
25. Gadhvi I R., et al. "Indian White-backed Vultures Gyps bengalensis nesting in Mahuva, Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, India”. Indian Birds2 (2006): 36.
26. Giri Jeet Bahadur and S GC. "Study of vultures in western lowland Nepal”. Oriental Bird Club Bulletin36 (2002): 11-13.
27. Venkitachalam R and S Senthilnathan. "Breeding Record of Indian Vulture (Gyps indicus) in Moyar Valley, Tamil Nadu, India”. Current science2 (2015): 258-259.
28. Oro Daniel., et al. "Testing the goodness of supplementary feeding to enhance population viability in an endangered vulture”. PloS one12 (2008): e4084.
29. Lieury Nicolas., et al. "Relative contribution of local demography and immigration in the recovery of a geographically-isolated population of the endangered Egyptian vulture”. Biological Conservation191 (2015): 349-356.
30. Balmford Andrew. "Pollution, politics, and vultures”. Science6120 (2013): 653-654.
31. Grande Juan M., et al. "Survival in a long‐lived territorial migrant: effects of life‐history traits and ecological conditions in wintering and breeding areas”. Oikos4 (2009): 580-590.
32. Margalida Antoni., et al. "Factors influencing the breeding density of Bearded vultures, Egyptian vultures and Eurasian griffon vultures in Catalonia (NE Spain): management implications”. Animal Biodiversity and Conservation2 (2007): 189-200.

Citation

Citation: Archi Sehgal and Krishan Kumar. “Nest Records, Nesting Colony Selection of Oriental White Backed Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) and Role of Feeding Station in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh". Acta Scientific Veterinary Sciences 4.1 (2022): 86-91.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2022 Archi Sehgal and Krishan Kumar. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.